Journal Journeys: Swimming with whale sharks
Feb 22nd, 2010 by wwftravel
© Jürgen Freund / WWF-Canon
President and CEO of WWF-US, Carter Roberts, shares thoughts on his experience swimming with whale sharks.
We left Isla Holbox at dawn, transported by a local fisherman at the helm of a 20-foot skiff. We were off the north coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where some of the world’s largest concentrations of manta rays and whale sharks come to feed and calve their young. Our timing was perfect. The sea was as smooth as glass, and dozens of whale sharks and a few mantas lazily fed on zooplankton at the surface.
My wife Jackie and I had brought our three young children on an unforgettable adventure in July: to swim with whale sharks – a lifetime’s dream for me. Whale sharks, which have inhabited the Earth for millions of years, are the largest fish in the world, and can grow up to 45 feet long. These massive filter-feeder fish, with dark grey skin and a gorgeous array of spots, pose little danger to humans. Highly migratory, they cross thousands of miles to feeding grounds in many different regions of the world, including the Gulf of California, where the cold and warm ocean currents mix.
Whale sharks are good indicators of ocean productivity and play a flagship role for the conservation of other marine species. But local refuge managers have expressed concern about their potential for harm — from the pollution leaching from a Cancun landfill, pesticides used on golf courses in the Riviera Maya, to too many shark-watching boats operating without proper care or procedures.
A few years ago, after operators became concerned that tourists were touching and riding the whale sharks, WWF held ecoregional workshops to develop sound management practices that protect the fish while preserving income alternatives for communities. And just a week before we arrived in Holbox, the town hosted the second International Whale Shark Conference, where operators and researchers from 21 countries collaborated and compared best practices. One of the most significant findings from the conference was that whale sharks stand a better chance of survival in places where they are valued – whether for their religious significance or their income-generating charisma.
In Holbox, it’s safe to say that the ecotourism around whale sharks is a major driver of the local economy. Fortunately, this economic value drives local policies. All operators must abide by a strict code of ethics and signs are posted on every boat, telling tourists and guides how to visit the sharks without harming them – which at this critical stage of their life cycle would be tantamount to killing the goose that laid the golden egg.
It’s clearer every day that intact ecosystems – from forests that sequester carbon to seas that support whale sharks — hold a whole set of bundled values for humankind. That’s why it’s so profoundly important to protect natural systems. My family and I were reminded of that when we swam with the whale sharks, face to face – reminded of the awe that the natural world inspires in all of us, and the imperative to act on that inspiration.
Join WWF’s Expedition Whale Sharks adventure, scheduled August 8-13, 2010.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also like Message from the Field: Gina DeFerrari on Whale Sharks.
