Upcoming December '09/January '10 Trip
The team will be back in South Ari on the 10th December 2009 to continue the MWSRP's pioneering whale shark research. Also high on the priority list is the development of the new FenMaaDhiguRan Marine Protected Area (MPA).
December's field trip begins with a visit to Qatar. Richard and Adam will arrive on the 1st December to meet the Qatar Natural History Group (QNHG) after an offer was extended to the MWSRP by Louise Hunter (QNHG) to visit Doha and give a presentation about the MWSRP, its work and how people can help.
Richard will then travel to the UAE to present the MWSRP's findings to the first Arabian Sea whale shark workshop. While Adam will meet the rest of the team - Ben Fothergill and Rachel Bott - in Male for more meetings with Government Ministries. The team will then head to South Ari to set up the research vessel and equipment, await the arrival of the first volunteers, and head out to FenMaaDhiguRan.
The MWSRP plans to continue September's fund raising discussions with resorts in and around the MPA, bringing the area one step closer to becoming the first regulated, and revenue generating MPA in the Maldives.
Planned whale shark research includes the continuation of - the Photo I.D. work (adding to the 130 sharks already recorded in the database), the recording of scars displayed by each individual, the sexing of each shark (hopefully leading to the discovery of only the fifth known female whale shark in the Maldives), the measuring of each individual (the MWSRP team are the only research group in the World consistently measuring each shark) which will lead to a solid growth rate being calculated for whale sharks in their own habitat.
Dr Brent Stewart (Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute) will again be collaborating with the MWSRP in an attempt to retrieve the tags previously deployed. The information hoping to be gained from these studies (as has been gained from past collaborative studies) includes where the sharks are travelling. The results will again be utilised to increase protection efforts within the Maldives and further afield.
The team will be continuing their important work with the local community. Many meetings are planned to develop the MPA (ensuring the communities benefit from this resource). More inspirational days out with the local schools are planned which includes eco-system education, informative meetings with the fishing industry will also take place, and the team will definitely be taking part in island football, volleyball and basketball games.
A priority is enhancing the MWSRP's involvement with the dive industry within the South Ari Atoll. Good relationships have been formed to date but the team hopes to work more closely, encouraging dive guides to ensure tourists behave appropriately.
When the team departs the Maldives on 31st January 2010 some of their questions about whale sharks will no doubt be answered, but the reality is that more questions will be asked than answers discovered. The team hopes to have encouraged more resorts to realise their responsibilities by sponsoring the MPA and to have reduced the habitat disturbance so often seen at FenMaaDhiguRan (the World's most consistent whale shark ‘hotspot').
