From October to April, whale sharks are often seen in and around the tropical paradise in the Seychelles and delight the many scuba divers who spend vacations here. The Seychelles Marine Conservation Society has a program to protect these rare creatures and also to support the tourism industry by facilitating sightings and enabling tourists to help with the research.
About Whale Sharks
Whale sharks are filter feeders, feasting on plankton, squid and smaller marine fish. With their distinctive coloring and the dorsal markings of white stripes and spots they are magnificent to observe and command a real presence in the ocean. As gentle giants, they can grow up to 60 feet long, averaging 20-30 feet, and weigh in at 34 tonnes. Elephants weigh 6 tonnes on average and by comparison.
Relatively little is known about the life cycle of the whale shark and it is therefore imperative to have conservation program such as the Seychelles initiative. The whale shark is the largest fish on the planet and swims in isolation rather than in a school making it relatively challenging to spot. They tend to inhabit equatorial waters and over the past few years have suffered slaughter in mass for the Far Eastern restaurant trade. They are now a protected and endangered species.
Monitoring Whale Sharks
During the month of October, the whale sharks appear in the Seychelles making it the optimal time to tag these creatures so they can be monitored. Usually when they are spotted a diver descends and fits an electronic tag to the back of the shark. It is marked with an S for Seychelles and color coded for the year and with an individual number. Underwater photos are also taken as some sharks shake off the tags.
In the Seychelles, an innovative project has been developed where tourists are able to help with the tagging and monitoring of the whale sharks with the Seychelles Marine Conservation Society. The easiest way to spot these huge creatures is by micro light which forms the first part of the experience. Tourists are then able to snorkel with the conservation team as they monitor the whale sharks and assist with the research. Restrictions on numbers and photography are in place; however it is a wonderful opportunity to experience nature at its best.
Conservation
Combining tourism with conservation initiatives is an excellent way of raising awareness of the environmental challenges faced by marine life today. For divers in the Seychelles this is an attractive way of getting closer to the majestic whale shark.