2006 – 2008 Analysis of Whale Shark Aggregations in the Maldives

Abstract

This is the first peer reviewed analysis paper that MWSRP produced, from observations during the early days of the Programme, 2006 – 2008. Our understanding has developed considerably since then, though some of the fundamental findings, specifically gender bias and average size remain remarkably close to the what we currently know with nearly 8 times the dataset! It provides an early insight into the research of the Programme and a good base knowledge of the sharks in the area.