The Dorsal Fin

LiveScience.com is reporting that an August, 2009 aggregation of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) off the Yucatán Peninsula numbered up to 420 whale sharks within a 7 square-mile area. While this whale shark aggregation had previously been reported in the past, yesterday scientists announced that they had tallied the number of the animals to be an estimated 420.

For the full article on the recent whale shark report, check out LiveScience.com.

YouTube user WFF0001 recently posted the above video of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus) making an appearance at the Guy Harvey sponsored Bimini Big Game Club Billfish Invitational. The video features some free-divers “hitching a ride” on the shark by hanging on to the shark’s dorsal and caudal fins.

Similar videos in the past have generated debate centered around the “no-touch” philosophy of diving. Some argue that whale sharks don’t appear to be bothered by swimmers and divers “hitching a ride,” based on the fact that the animals don’t immediately try to leave the area when this kind of activity occurs. While whale sharks are also listed as a “vulnerable” species on the IUCN Red List, those with the “no harm, no foul” philosophy that point out that whale sharks are not in any danger of being injured by people “hitching a ride.”

The other side of the argument is that the whale sharks don’t really have a say in the matter and can’t express whether or not they’re bothered by people “riding” them.

If you have an opinion on the “riding whale sharks” debate, feel free to share it in the comments section.

VOA TV to Africa has posted this news feature about whale shark (Rhincodon typus) conservation efforts in Kenya. While measures have been taken in Kenya to protect whale sharks, it is currently still legal for fisherman to harvest the species.

A fisherman interviewed in the report point out that a whale shark is an attractive catch due to its large liver. Oil from a whale shark’s liver is a valuable commodity for fisherman, and a single whale shark’s liver can last a fisherman multiple years. The report also notes that fins from smaller reef sharks are also a prized commodity. The sale of the fins, meat, and liver of one reef shark can generate enough income to sustain a family for an entire month, according to the report.

The Kenyan-based East African Whale Shark Trust has been promoting the protection of the species through public-awareness campaigns. The campaigns educate the public about the value of the sharks to the environment and to Kenya’s eco-tourism market in hope to decrease the demands for whale shark liver oil.

Oceana has released a shark-conservation themed PSA featuring actress January Jones swimming alongside a whale shark (Rhincodon typus). The PSA was filmed at the Gladden Spit Marine Reserve off of southern Belize.

Jones stars in the television series “Mad Men” and can be seen in the upcoming film “X-Men: First Class,” in which she will portray Emma Frost. This is the second “Scared for Sharks” PSA that Jones has participated in with Oceana.

India’s NDTV recently ran the feature above on Gujarat’s campaign to save whale sharks(Rhincodon typus). Fishermen who once viewed the the whale shark as a lucrative catch are now putting their efforts towards conservation of species. According to NDTV, the government has now placed a ban on killing the species, and fishermen who have to cut nets to release whale sharks are compensated for their financial losses.

The change in perspective about the species was brought on, in part, by a religious appeal to the fishermen. A Gujarat spiritual leader compared migrating whale sharks to daughters returning to their families after a journey. He encouraged local fishermen to welcome the species rather than kill them, and the fishermen have responded to the appeal.