Whale Shark research in the Caribbean

[Utila Simon]

Hi,

I work for the new Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center on Utila, an island located 18 miles off the shore of Honduras. www.wsorc.com

I am writing because we are lucky enough to have Whale Sharks visit our island for most of the year, from September through to May mainly with high season from March through May. As the only organisation in Honduras with a permit to research these amazing animals (truely gentle giants) we want to let the diving world know that we exist and they are here!

We offer Whale Shark Distinctive Specialties and an opportunity to participate on the only licenced research boat operating in the area. This not only offers you the opportunity to see these creatures feeding in their natural environment, but also to actively assist us in our afforts to tag and monitor them for truely scientific purposes.

By visiting us you will be supporting these conservation efforts and have a chance to dive one of the lesser known Caribbean islands.

I look forward to sharing some amazing underwater experiences with you!

Simon

 

[diver567]

Hi,

I work for the new Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center on Utila, an island located 18 miles off the shore of Honduras. www.wsorc.com

I am writing because we are lucky enough to have Whale Sharks visit our island for most of the year, from September through to May mainly with high season from March through May. As the only organisation in Honduras with a permit to research these amazing animals (truely gentle giants) we want to let the diving world know that we exist and they are here!

We offer Whale Shark Distinctive Specialties and an opportunity to participate on the only licenced research boat operating in the area. This not only offers you the opportunity to see these creatures feeding in their natural environment, but also to actively assist us in our afforts to tag and monitor them for truely scientific purposes.

By visiting us you will be supporting these conservation efforts and have a chance to dive one of the lesser known Caribbean islands.

I look forward to sharing some amazing underwater experiences with you!

Simon

Dear Simon
I would like to see a copy of your licence as i have contacted the Honduran goverment and they have told me that no licences or permits have being issued for the study of the whale sharks in the area.
As we all know WSORC is not what it portrays to be it is just another dive operator disguising whale shark tours under the banner of research,it is a profit making organisation under private ownership. I must admit it is a good marketing technique but please at least portray the truth to the public.
Please inform me of your legal permit status as the goverment is denying what you are stating and as far as i am concerned all Utila operators are allowed to interact with this creatures and all you have is a permit for tagging this creatures.
Kind regards

 

[Utila Simon]

Dear anonymous,

The licence is on display in our building and you are welome to drop by to see it at any time. It was effected on 26th August 2005 and signed by Dionicio Cruz. This is the only research licence that they have issued in 10 years, and the only one they intend to issue.

You are correct, we are a profit making organisation at the moment, because non-profit status takes time to get...its in the pipeline.

Finally, you are also correct, all dive operators around Utila are free to interact with the Whale Sharks of Utila within the encounter guidelines accepted by the Dive Community of Utila and designed by the W.S.O.R.C., based on those from Ningaloo Reef, but none is allowed to conduct research.

Legal permit status... valid & in force!

Kind regards

Simon

Dear Simon
I would like to see a copy of your licence as i have contacted the Honduran goverment and they have told me that no licences or permits have being issued for the study of the whale sharks in the area.
As we all know WSORC is not what it portrays to be it is just another dive operator disguising whale shark tours under the banner of research,it is a profit making organisation under private ownership. I must admit it is a good marketing technique but please at least portray the truth to the public.
Please inform me of your legal permit status as the goverment is denying what you are stating and as far as i am concerned all Utila operators are allowed to interact with this creatures and all you have is a permit for tagging this creatures.
Kind regards

 

[GoProHonduras]

Hi Simon,

By research do you mean shooting tags with guns into the Whalesharks fin?

As someone who's been living on the island for the last 7 years I noticed a significant decrease in the sightings of Whalesharks around Utila after one 'research' groups tagging efforts in 2003, no names mentioned. I mean if I was molested every time I went to eat in a restaurant I guess I would stay away for a while!

I'm particulary interested in how the UWORC intend to reinvest the profits made, to the benefit of the marine enviroment around Utila?

By the way, the UWORC guidelines are awesome, that really is to the benefit of the Whaleshark which really is the main concern here, I particulary like the 'no touching' guideline!

Regards,
Andy

 

[Utila Simon]

Hi Andy,

Thanks for your comments and questions. I would of course be happy to discuss these with you face to face over a beer! In lieu of that beer I respond as follows...

I totally agree with your sentiments regarding being molested each time you come in to the restaurant and that was one of the principal ideas that drove the guidelines (and I am aware that your shop does take these guidelines seriously). However, the visual tag that you are referring to is not shot through the dorsal fin but in to the fatty tissue located below the dorsal fin and above the first lateral line. When the tag is applied the shark does react, but I would compare it to being pricked with a needle... they flick their tail and swim off or dive. However, this methodology is well established and used worldwide & in my experience most sharks have subsequently come back to the feed within only a few minutes. Surely the lost few minutes feeding in return for valuable research data is worthwhile... isnt it?

Now, re-investment....

Firstly, as I stated above we are currently privately owned. Frankly this is the only way that progress will ever be made in this area, one person fronting the money for all the amazing facilities that we have here (an open invitation is extended to you to come and look around right here). I believe he has the right to make a return on his (very large) investment. The investment in the reef is already happening. Mostly it is in the form of time and personal effort of a few individuals who care very deeply about what is happening to our reefs because money is only now starting to appear. However, if the center makes a fortune (we live in hope) then we have projects on paper that we will fund ourselves. Our projects are currently small, cheap and labour intensive... necessarily. We have good scientific backup and have plans for the future... but frankly I am not going to share our ideas here!

How about that beer? And why not bring along Diver 567 to view our permit.

Kind regards

Simon

PS... I remember the day you arrived on Utila...

Hi Simon,

By research do you mean shooting tags with guns into the Whalesharks fin?

As someone who's been living on the island for the last 7 years I noticed a significant decrease in the sightings of Whalesharks around Utila after one 'research' groups tagging efforts in 2003, no names mentioned. I mean if I was molested every time I went to eat in a restaurant I guess I would stay away for a while!

I'm particulary interested in how the UWORC intend to reinvest the profits made, to the benefit of the marine enviroment around Utila?

By the way, the UWORC guidelines are awesome, that really is to the benefit of the Whaleshark which really is the main concern here, I particulary like the 'no touching' guideline!

Regards,
Andy

 

[archman]

I would assume that once a shark is tagged, there's no need to approach it anymore except for recreational purposes. Is that correct? How long do these tags last, and what measurements can they make?

You need to assign names to more of your tagged sharks. It facilitates visual identification when the critter has a name rather a number, and is more fun. The general public identifies much better with names, too.

I like the Whale Shark Encounter Guidelines.
http://www.wsorc.com/whale_shark_division/guidelines/guidelines.htm

They're similar to the Marine Mammal regs in U.S. water. Better, actually.

I'm forwarding your website to some of my pals that operate study-abroad marine science programs. The facility sounds interesting.

 

[GoProHonduras]

Hi Simon,

Thank you for the clarification, though I can only assume that after the accurate marksmen have shot the tag then only the Whaleshark would be able to explain exactly how it felt!!!!!

I do applaud the time and efforts that the individuals at UWORC will be putting into reef projects around the island, that is a great step and extremely encouraging. I will stop by at some point soon one my schedule allows and as far as I am aware Diver567 is at DEMA.

Regards,
Andy

PS I take it your referring to the day in 98' during World Cup!!!!!

 

[Utila Simon]

That is correct, Archman, and the idea is that "encounter trips" will form an important part of the research in terms of spotting and reporting tags. We have already witnessed for ourselves (purely anecdotal reports at this stage) that observance of the guidelines DOES lead to longer contact times with the sharks so hopefully the research can aid the tourist operators as well as the sharks.

{As an aside, we believe our population here to be part of the population that visits Yukatan in Mexico. Their tourist operation is well run, well regulated and very sucessful, probably due to the extremely long contact times they get there... or maybe the long contact times are due to the well run Tourist operations.... so why do they behave differently here??? We believe its a learned behavioural response to the years of harrasement they have been subjected to on and around this island}

The tags themselves are visual tags that do rely on being spotted and reported (and we had one reported from Yukatan a couple of months ago). We have had two donations of 2 satellite tags from private donors who spent time on our research boat but these come in at $10,000 per year (including monitoring) so we need more funding and donations (we are staring down the road of fundraising now). These will last for 6 months before cutting themselves free and floating to the surface, hopefully to be recovered. Satellite tags record depths, temp, salinity, and gps location.

I appreciate you sending our contact details to friends and colleagues, spread the word! The guidelines are based upon those used by the guys doing much more advanced Whale Shark research in Western Australia, Ningaloo Reef. They kindly agreed for us to use their guidelines and ammend them for our local environment, we would have preferred to have had fewer snorkellers in the water with the sharks but we have to be realistic.

Nice to talk, Archman

Simon

I would assume that once a shark is tagged, there's no need to approach it anymore except for recreational purposes. Is that correct? How long do these tags last, and what measurements can they make?

You need to assign names to more of your tagged sharks. It facilitates visual identification when the critter has a name rather a number, and is more fun. The general public identifies much better with names, too.

I like the Whale Shark Encounter Guidelines.
http://www.wsorc.com/whale_shark_division/guidelines/guidelines.htm

They're similar to the Marine Mammal regs in U.S. water. Better, actually.

I'm forwarding your website to some of my pals that operate study-abroad marine science programs. The facility sounds interesting.

 

[Utila Simon]

By the way, we setting up an adoption program so have avoided naming too many sharks. But good input, thanks.

Simon

I would assume that once a shark is tagged, there's no need to approach it anymore except for recreational purposes. Is that correct? How long do these tags last, and what measurements can they make?

You need to assign names to more of your tagged sharks. It facilitates visual identification when the critter has a name rather a number, and is more fun. The general public identifies much better with names, too.

I like the Whale Shark Encounter Guidelines.
http://www.wsorc.com/whale_shark_division/guidelines/guidelines.htm

They're similar to the Marine Mammal regs in U.S. water. Better, actually.

I'm forwarding your website to some of my pals that operate study-abroad marine science programs. The facility sounds interesting.

 

[diverkristi]

The "RULES" are consistent with what we were told in Utila by Deep Blue a few months ago. There was a time when we thought we were going to see one, and everyone was "briefed". This was exactly how they told us the "encounter" would be conducted.