The Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP) has had its research permit suspended by the ministry of fisheries and agriculture after complaints about the organisation’s research methods.
“The Divers’ Association and segments of the community complained to us that they were unhappy with the way the research was being conducted,” said Minister of State for Fisheries and Agriculture Dr Hussain Rasheed Hassan.
The ministry was concerned that the research “was not being conducted under the conditions issued”, he said, adding that “the decision was made in consultation with the ministry of tourism and community stakeholders.”
The MWSRP researchers have been involved in an ongoing dispute over the tagging of whale sharks with the Divers Association of the Maldives and a number of safari boat operators, who claim the practice is driving the rarely-seen species away from its habitat and threatening the livelihoods of safari and dive boat operators.
The MWSRP contends that the tagging is harmless and the whale sharks are being driven away by the throngs of boats and swimmers that converge every time a shark breaks the surface.
The dispute reached a head on 13 January when the researchers claimed their vessel was boarded and the crew threatened at knife-point.
MWSRP’s director Richard Rees said eight men from a liveaboard called ‘The Southern Cross’ came alongside the researchers’ vessel on 13 January.
“Their spokesman was armed with a knife,” Rees said. “It started out reasonable. We told him to ask his questions about our research and we would try to answer them.”
The researchers said in a statement that they tried to explain that tagging “does not lead to evasive behaviour in the sharks and is imperative to the conservation of the species”, and that moreover, “we have not tagged in South Ari atoll since May 2009.”
They said the man then accused them “of tagging 300 whale sharks. We explained that there are only 130 known individuals in the whole of the Maldives.”
“He then declared, ‘I have no interest in shark research. I don’t care if hundreds of people come here to see the sharks. I just care about my safari boat businesses.'”
Following the verbal stoush, Rees said the men demanded to see the vessel’s research permit and search the boat.
“We didn’t have the permit with us, so we phoned the ministry of fisheries and agriculture. [The ministry] said we had their full backing, after that the men became aggressive.”
A statement from the researchers claimed the man waved his knife at them and said: ‘I don’t care about the government or research. If you are in the area tomorrow I will bring more safari boats to fight with you and sink your dhoni. If you continue your research I will kill you all.'”
Rees said the man then slashed the banners identifying the ship as a research vessel and said worse would happen if the boat was in the same area the following day.
“It was a real nice experience for us; two of the people on board were on their first day as volunteers,” Rees said, adding that after the men left the vessel the researchers retreated to avoid inflaming the situation further.
“We remained calm and said we were going straight to the police. Then the Southern Cross’s sister ship MV Orion turned up and chased us down, said we didn’t have a permit and continued to harass us.”
Inspector Ahmed Shiyam from Maldives Police Service confirmed a complaint had been filed and that while no arrests had been made, the case was currently under investigation and had been referred to officers in Male.
“We can’t say anything yet. We will investigate and make recommendations to the relevant government authorities,” he said.
Rees said that it was not just the researchers who had been threatened by the liveaboards.
Ismail Mohamed from the water sports section at Diva Resort and Spa said congestion and poor behaviour around whale sharks in early January had led to one of the resort’s guests being hit in the head by a dive dhoni while he was swimming in the water.
“They can’t control the boat that close,” he said, adding that while the guest had escaped with bruising and swelling and was filing a complaint with the resort, a lot of whale sharks also suffered from propeller damage because of the boats getting too close.
The proximity of the reef break near the popular whale sighting spot also meant “that if [other vessels] crash into me and there’s a problem [with the engine], my boat will crash on the reef and I will lose it.”
The crew of some liveaboards had also shown poor behaviour to some of Diva’s guests, “throwing dive weights and showing their naked behinds, which is disappointing behaviour for Maldivians. One guest was very angry, I think he also made a complaint.”
Tagging controversy
Ahmed Risheen from the advisory board of the Divers Association of the Maldives said the tension had been building between the vessels and the researchers because of their tagging methods.
“The sharks are disappearing because they are tagging them and taking samples. It’s a threat [to the shark’s] environment – because of the research there are less whale sharks,” Risheen said.
“They’ve been working for only three years, Maldivians have been watching sharks here for 15 years. We have a really good code of conduct here.”
Risheen also accused the MWSRP of tagging in front of guests, an activity Rees denied.
“We have a policy not to tag when tourists or boats are in the area, because we understand what their responses are going to be,” he replied.
The tagging itself was harmless to the animal, he said, “and the majority do not react. Some swim away, but we catch up and take photos to make sure tagging occurred properly.”
Allegations that researchers had boasted on their website that tagging the sharks was “like drinking coffee on a roller-coaster” were false, the researchers said.
“It is very disappointing that people believe hearsay. Our website is readily available for anyone to read and to be able to contact the MWSRP to obtain the correct information.”
The tagging process was “essential to learn more about them,” Rees insisted. The organisation’s research had revealed that the sharks travelled “enormous distances but come back to the [Maamigilli] area over and over again. “This is important because if the shark goes into international waters there are conservation implications – they are not protected outside the Maldives.”
The tags also recorded depth and temperature, allowing the reseachers to plot the whale sharks’ vertical habitats.
“The sharks spend an awful lot of time very deep and only surface infrequently, often at night. It’s amazing we get sightings at all – this kind of information is of huge value to the tourist industry.”
Opportunities to see whale sharks were unpredictable and “very limited”, he said.
“A lot of liveaboards guarantee ‘whale shark encounters’ which is ludicrous. There’s huge pressure when there are no sharks and they blame it on our research program – we have data that proves this is not the case.”
Risheen insisted that researchers’ conduct in the Maamigilli area, “the only place where you’re guaranteed to see whale sharks”, was affecting vessels’ “businesses and livelihoods.”
As for the attack on the researchers, “I heard that story, and I really regret that a Maldivian diver has done that – we’re trying to track this guy down also. We’ve had a lot of calls from Ari atoll asking us to do something about [the situation] and we’ve been trying, but apparently we were a little late.”
Commercialisation
Risheen also claimed the MWSRP were commercialising their research “through a contract with Conrad [Rangali Island] Resort.”
Dr Hussain Rasheed Hassan said the ministry was also concerned about this, “as the terms and conditions [of the research permit] state that the research must not be exploited for commercial advantage.”
“I visited their website and the researchers are asking people to donate money to sponsor whale sharks – nobody can sponser a whale, nobody has the right except the Maldives government. I’m very concerned about somebody saying they can sponsor our animals.”
Rees said the MWSRP was meeting with the ministry on 30 January to explain the program and the tagging methods that had been used.
“We will also be making our findings available on our website,” he said.
Image provided by the MWSRP.
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the biggest threat to whale sharks are these cowboy safari boats who bash into them and dont care how they act as long as they get near a shark. and they threaten anyone who stands in their way
Maldives seems to go on what people say to other people. Why do all parties not talk to each other? Surely an obvious thing...
Risheen (is that you from Black Pearl?), you speak rubbish and you know it. A good code of conduct!?! I know this not true. Many people do not go South Ari now because too many boats are already there an hundreds tourists hassling sharks. It makes sens to have code of conduct (and to stick to them) but it defintly dos not happin at the moment.
MWSRP are doing good work for maldives. They love maldives and maldives people. They never do wrong. We need to learn from MWSRP.
Government, is it true that no one from ministries has spoken with MWSRP about this? If this tru, it is very strange and maybe under hand aslo.
I know the MWSRP because they come on boats to help raise awarness. Thta is part of what they come to maldives for. They dont get paid money!!! They spend their own money for maldives. If stakeholders talk the problem is easy finish.
Finally, we in maldives are not stupid so why act so stupid. The MWSRP is here for good, here for maldives, for maldives people. The MWSRP is charity. Only weay the get money is thrugh donation. Other charity in other country sponsor tigers or lions to help protect.
Whale sharks do not belong to maldives they just come here.
I think resorts, safaris, water sports all take responsibly for actions and work togeter. MWSRP is charity in maldives trying to help maldives.
It is very bad that the safaris are attacking guests from the resorts and the MWSRP who have volunteers, the Maldives is not a place for this violoence. I think that all the peoples should be working together.
It is very interesting to learn that the Whale sharks can travel away and back again,they like the Maldives, but we want them to keep coming back! i think there is a lot of informations about the Whale sharks MWSRP could tell and can be useful for the tourist industry. I have seen the whale sharks and it was a brilliant experience, i think we should support the researchings and help the MWSRP.
They are taking school children to see the whale sharks and the children are very excited to see them, they visit the schools and tell them about the researchings which is good for their educations.
Why is this kind of 'research' allowed to happen in Maldives. Its always a foreigner or the IMF telling us what is best for us..
There are dominant considerations in this issue. Firstly, the concerned ministry should maintain fair regulations to eliminate these problems. What I've seen from the incumbent government is appointing of political post oblivious with their knowledge and experience. As we, Maldives are progressing and enrouting to a mass tourism, the ministry of tourism and the ministry of fisheries should be one step ahead to research the issues of this kind to implement effificient regulations. Dreadfully, the minister of tourism is Dr.Shawaad, who has no background of tourism neither business, and the minister of fisheries is Dr.Didi who is a dentist.
Secondly, Law and Order of Maldives is in a state of chaos and most of the politicians of MDP are acting with apparent impunity.
It is a wise thing atleast by the government that permit has been suspended for the meantime. So that the government could work on something mutually good.
i think this is going to create very bad pr for the maldives and the boats involved which attacked the mwsrp many dive magazines world wide in which these companies advertise would be very interested in what has happened talk about shooting themselves in the foot, attacking conservationists is a discgrace. the ministry though have been very clever. by withdrawing the tagging permit when no tagging has been taking place which they already know about should silence and humour the morons and ignorant people who are complaining for a time. by the way "drinking coffee on a rollercoaster" translated into its proper english term actually means "very difficult " so tagging whale sharks is very difficult.
Classic example of Maldivians thinking they know EVERYTHING.. these community champions think they know science better than the experts..Even had the nerve to overrule sound science by saying tagging is dangerous to the sharks!
I tell you, there are no finer idiots than these gun-ho dhivehin
Anyone from abroad who is stupid enough to interact with a native will gain first hand experience in this culture uniquely ours- Bulldozing anything and anyone that does not agree with us..
Saabaheyyy
And Azim, I think its because we all coconuts who think of ourselves as Arabs with Oil to do everything for us..
I have been to the Maldives and witnessed these horrible safari boats in action. They think they own the place and show no compassion for the marine life or for the safety of tourists. My friend was hit by a safari tender!
I have met the MWSRP team a few times having published various articles about what can only be described as their super important, pioneering work in the Maldives. So I feel like I know a little about their work. Therefore you should all know that these guys (and girls) all work for free. They have given up their careers, sold their possessions and invested the funds in the Maldives for the Maldives!!! They are working in the Maldives to help conserve a special place and help to make tourism sustainable so that the crazy safari owners can earn money from things like whale shark tours for many years. They're also trying to help Maldivian's benefit from the tourism exploiting their country.
Speaking of exploitation. Did you all know that the data and proposal provided to develop South Ari's protected area was all the MWSRP's work? So the government exploit the organisation to meet their CBD commitments and then turn their backs because a minority make unsubstantiated claims! The MWSRP were actually also working on another protected area proposal, again, just to help the Maldives.
If the Maldives is the environmentally friendly, shark conserving country it is making itself out to be surely this sends the opposite message to the world. If it goes down this route it will be a PR nightmare for the conservation minded president!
And commercialisation of research? Are you serious!?! It is a charity that encourages money to be invested in the Maldives.
You all need to seriously consider the messages you are sending to crazy safari boat owners/crews, divers, and the world.
The MWSRP is one of very few organisations in the Maldives actually making a difference. My next article on them was about 2010's goals. Again, you should all know that these included: 2 school exchange programmes (investing outside money in the Maldives to be able to take Maldivian students to other countries), the development of a facility to house visiting students, scientists, teachers, and researchers to provide Maldivian people with experience and education in areas that are not available to them in the Maldives. They're also working on implementing fund raising mechanisms in resorts to channel funds into the local communities...I could go on and on. Is there any one else doing this for your country and not asking for anything in return? The question is do you really want these guys to stop helping the Maldives? If so, you truly don't know what you have got. MWSRP I wish you all the best at this trying time.
Ahmed Azim, do you know what is best for the Maldives? We should be grateful that these people want to help us. I am ashamed to be Maldivian at the moment!
who are these whaleshark reseachers, what do they know which locals don't. if you are white in maldives its very easy to do anything, this is the most racist country in the whole world. kick these researcher out of this country. and gunter we own the place for real you just have to dream. as far as i know there MWSRP they bunch of amatures, we cannot allow some amatures to play around our presious whalesharks.
also this article is so one sided. unbelievable. aparently Hilton guarenty their customers whaleshales, i wonder where this is going...? these so called researchers have tagged same shark 3,4 times. they probably are learning. and the guy from USA who joined lately is testing some new tags and using our whaleshark as test subject. wakeup everyone. first lets do some research on the researchers. you will be surprised!!!
you people have catagorically labled us maldivians as stupid ungrateful arab loving coconut chewing idiots. fine. we can deal with that because we are so used to be treated that way by most europeans who work in the resorts with us and especially the divers who came here on a work permit and consider every living organism underwater belongs to them.
but one thing i cant understand is, did anyone of you guys bothered to complain about the researchers "asking people to donate money to sponsor whale sharks"??? who owns these whale sharks in our waters?
since when are the whale sharks in ari atoll? since when is the ari atoll resorts are taking divers to watch these whale sharks? since when are the safari boats are around? did you ever stop to ask why have the whale sharks not left the maldives yet, if maldivians are so stupid and arrogant and unkind to the whale sharks? why all of a sudden this is becoming an issue?
cant you smell something fishy?
It’s funny that such professionals are having trouble communicating with each other. Just trying to solve whatever they have in between by talking rubbish. Grow-up people and try to solve it by sitting together and try to understand both sides of it. Don’t always think that you are or they are right. Sometimes it could be both who are right. All depends how you look at it.
Being in another country and making enemies won’t help you in any way.
All time talking how good you are wont help either.
Looks like a bunch of Amateurs trying to do a research for their field project. Just my opinion.
Others might think even less of you. Anyway I guess I would become one of you if I continue this for too long.
DAM is not against any research being conducted in the Maldives - we totally agree that we do not have the facility and technical support needed for such researches.
As local divers we are concerned with the fact that since the research group started with the tagging program - we do not see the whalesharks as we used to see them - and this issue was brought to us as a major concern by the local dive community.
As Divers Association of Maldives it is our duty to raise these concerns to the relevent authorities.
As far as our knowledge goes - even by simply touching the whalesharks we are harming them - from our side we are disagreeing with the methodology and the area it is conducted.
Maamigili area has been discovered by locals over 20 years ago - It is a Marine Park for us - locals divers know this area and the whalesharks living there more than anyone else.
Why not do the research in another area of the Maldives? Why not discover a new place for the whalesharks within the Maldives?
We do totally agree there should be proper guidlines that should be followed by everyone - Ministries should discuss it among the dive community and proper guidelines have to be implemented and circulated among the dive community.
If we locals are ignorant of these major issues - it could end up in a very sad ending.
listen to the locals - they know their environment better that the forigners who go for holidays under the name of doing research!!!
I have been to the Maldives for diving over 20 years - and I have seen and witnessed how much the local care for these vulnerable creatures -
On every briefing its repeatedly highlighted not to touch the whalesharks -and the guides are so strict that there have been cases where the guest have to discontinue diving if they touch the whalesharks!!
Its important for the ministries to listen to their own voice rather than these researches who call them 'charity' workers (when they are earning a fortune from donations).
What is the benefit the Maldives get by conducting this research?
Do we even need to do research on the handful of whale sharks that visit our reefs? What's the point?
Why can't the researchers go elsewhere to research on whale sharks? Why do they have to be after the few sharks that we happen to see?
Our main source of income is tourism. And if this research is in any way detrimental to our income, I think they should be driven off. There is no benefit we will get by tagging the few sharks in Maldivian waters.
This article says, there are too many safaris and other boats that take tourists to see the sharks. It also said that the researchers do not do the tagging when tourists are around. It just does not add up for me. When do they get the time to tag, if the sharks are always surrounded by safari boats?
The researchers ask to donate money. So we donate money. We finance them to tag the sharks. And the sharks are driven away. How more stupid can we be!
I am from the south ari atoll & i went with them to see the whalesharks once.if we want protect these species my suggestion is to stop the safari boats going to our area, unless some 1 is observing their "actions".there are many local divers who love the marine creatures but the truth is there are many divers without any knowledge, but think that they are ameethaabs.the world knows what they(MWSR) are doing, so get feedback from the experts.I dont think we are the right people to talk about science,coz most of us dont ve that knowledge.
I'll wait for more solid proof from both sides.
The Maldivian bashing going on here (by other Maldivians) is hilarious. It's funny how little proof these "intellectuals" need to believe someone as long as they are foreigners.
It's amazing how quickly people have made this entirely black and white as well.
Savage Maldivian Divers vs Timid Researchers.
Also it's a bit irresponsible for Minivannews to state the headline as a fact and then later on say "allegedly" etc.
How dare could MWSRP claim that they are the one's who made 'Maamigili area' a protected area - when Locals have been protecting this area for the past 20 years -
Unfortunately our government will believe anything these stupid outsiders say - we just have 'white skin' to get the approvals!!!
For gods sake - hear the locals
These so called researchers will do their holidays here - go back home - writea theseus with their names - no credits to Maldivians!!
Although all the work is done by us locals -
we(Locals) show them the fish - they take the photo - print a book and lable them under their name!! - this is how their publications go!!
WAKE UP MALDIVIANS - we have to protect our our country and the precious environment which cannot be compared with any other country.
I think safari boats and its divers and every Maldivian and Tourist and snorkeler has a right to see whale sharks in the wild.I don't see any logical excuses to let these people continue on with tagging people have been watching whale sharks in harmony before the crusaders came along, lets say last night i was having a coffee with a frd of mine and he said for example if Fathimath Adam was walking on the on Majeedemague and every day my friend harpooned tagged her would she walk on the same street over and over again regardless of been harpooned or tagged.
Animals do have instincts its very simple STOP TAGGING continue with the research as to a way in which benefits my people and respect them at the same time thank you.
Thats a great news to hear that they lose the Research Permit.The questions is why government gave a stupid research permit to these kids.They say that they don't tag while the divers or snorkelers are around. can some one ask them how many times they have been chased away from that area in past couple of years,...
they do research, they think government gave them that research permit to ride the whale shark, and have their own good time with that animals, Also as everybody knows they are clever. They get free accommodation from the resorts, they get free visa to work in the maldives,Free food from where ever they go, they know that they have to work so hard back in England to pay their own bills, thats why they are asking these rich people to sponsor a whale shark and they are living on that money, which we locals get nothing, no information,...
at the same time i would like to add that "some" Maldivian guides Touch and ride the whale sharks too,we all need to stop doing such a idiotic things.
Government needs to put more power on this,and regulate this protected marine area, more properly..
Everyone wants these gentle creatures for themselves only! Stop being selfish boat owners and everyone else alike!
Let these gentle giants be as they are by nature!
Today there is sufficient technology that will allow much of research and watching be done using them!
Safari boats need not promise their clients a TOUCH! If they want to bait tourists by a TOUCH! STOP this right now!
The people who want to acquire knowledge; they should think twice before they do anything because they only know what ever is known about them!
But if learned people want to experiment what they copied and learned from they lecturers and text books; STOP this like the Safari boat promise! Let not this be their experimental grounds!
I am no professional and I am a nobody on this subject; But I love the sea and its creatures and I love the Maldives!
Take a lesson from HUDHUFUSHI in Lhaviyani atoll; See the amount of damage money thirsty people have done to mother nature !
People playing and messing with this subject, I do not think that we would have come to a point of no return ! Think !
The MWSRP's own data shows that they are seeing more whale sharks year on year, not fewer. In 2006 it took them on average over 13 hours of searching effort to find a single shark, by 2008 that had dropped to less than 4 hours. Those sharks that have been tagged previously are seen again just as frequently, and in many cases more frequently than those that have not. So it would seem absurd to suggest the MWSRP and the tagging are scaring the sharks away.
It is perhaps worth considering that when searching for the sharks the MWSRP deliberately avoids sections of the reef and times of the day when there are large numbers of tourist boats around because past experience has suggested that more boats means fewer sharks. So by avoiding large congregations of tourist vessels the MWSRP is reporting seeing more sharks, whereas ‘local diver’, working on one of those vessels reportedly sees fewer- what might that tell us about what the sharks are responding to?
All of the research the MWSRP has done is published and freely available to all- simply 'google' "whale sharks" and "Maldives".
I would strongly support the suggestion that access to the MPA be restricted, a park entrance fee could be charged for tourist vessels to pay for the policing of the park by local people according to guidelines they, the government and responsible tour operators have already agreed upon. This would also give a local financial incentive to protect the sharks and prevent poaching and create new opportunities for the people who actually live on the reef where the sharks are seen.
Why do people not seem to realise that researchers are trying to help make sure these creatures stay in Maldives for centuries to come?
People say the sharks are not coming in december because of tagging but if they have not tagged since May surely that ends that argument!?! If the sharks are not coming maybe it is due to another reason.
Conservation is living in harmony. From what I know (not pure speculation) Researchers want people to act responsibly. Take Australia's whale shark hotspot. Thousands of people go there every year and it makes millions of dollars. Tourists go there, tour guides make money there, and researchers operate there. It is set up in a sustainable way so everyone exists in harmony. These places exist all over the world and they will exist for a long time because they are managed properly. Do you have the knowledge or expertise to be able to develop these plans.
No one wants to take anything away from anyone.
Wolfgang, how many rich marine biologists do you know? I don't know any and I know alot.
most you who have commented against locals probably dose not have a first hand experience with the whale shark or the safari boats snorkeling excursions with whale shark. you just commenting on what a so called researchers saying on the subject...
this is how we go on the whale shark watching days...
we do a strict briefing even before we reach maamigili outside, about not to touch or not to harass them away... but ofcourse there some cases guests touhing the shark, in that case we do take strict actions as well, like Wolfgang have mentioned above, because we want show the magnificent creature to our guest as long as we can and personally as a Maldivian we all local divers love to spend as much as time admiring the gentle giant.
we have not only been watching them like clowns in a kiddy party, there some very experience divers and boat captains who knows really well about the creature , like when and where they might be, depending on the currents and the season, when and where they might be surfacing after they dive deep. maybe not the scientific theory, i bet they know more than the researchers know about there behaviors in the Maldives.
which brings me to a question to the researchers, why didn't you tried to involve maldivinas in your research??? is it because we are as stupid ungrateful arab loving coconut chewing idiots. like in some comments we have been labeled, even some from among us maldivians have labled us the the local divers that..... (shame on you people) or you had a secrets of the creature that that you didn't want tell us, as we have encounters 100 times more than in your life you have seen it. we coconuts might know something helpful to you and ofcourse you'll know lot of things that is useful to us. we could simply helped you guys on your research by telling you the info of how many safaris had encounters on the day and any specific info you need we could provide....
Hehe These researchers are running out of their visa,Most probably they are working on tourist visa,unfortunately there is no one to monitor them. They have to be deported, thats why they are trying to make a report, and show that they are not guilty for what they have done,Everybody check the www.haveeru.com.mv "picture" Thats what these guys do, one of them is the dive center manager in one of the resorts in Baa atoll who support to them... and the other guy is a scientist who was there in baa atoll for this whale shark research project,...
Also don't trust on Morgan's comment, some of the tags were pulled out by some of the divers,Even tourist divers and they are thrown as garbage,..so how could their statistics be correct,...
Now the best thing to do is deport them, cos they have attacked our marine Environment and they have sold some of our whale sharks and Manta rays to the tourists,nobody knows were the money goes,
Andrew Johnston - Journalist.. doesn't really have the idea behind this.All the good journalist thinks that these whale sharks and manta's were first discovered by Guy Stevens and them.
Deport them and let our whale sharks live freely in our oceans.
But as far as I know. They have been telling the World that every year they are coming across less and less of these sharks. But now Morgan saying that its getting more and more.
You guys find your own PARK and charge an entrance fee. These waters belong to us MALDIVIANS.
Hope you never get back your permit.
dive association people go threatening researchers with knives and we call for the researchers to be thrown out! what irony. DAM are a bunch of arrogant idiots that think they know everything. just because someone is foriegn doesnt mean they dont have things we can learn
unfortunately there seems to be some race issue rearing its ugly head in these replies and its getting stupid, any maldivian can get involved with the mwsrp all they have to do is volunteer, these guys want photographs times and dates which any safari boat can get involved and supply. so why havent any maldivians volunteered? yes local knowledge would be very valuable so come and and get involved
if you visit maamagili on any day there is a pretty good chance of spotting a whaleshark but once 10 boats have jumped on its head then you are chasing shadows for the rest of the day
secondly no tagging has taken place since may last year so it doesnt make sense that tagging is driving the whale sharks away now does it. what is driving them away is bad behaviour and no control so stop making a scapegoat out of the mwsrp and get to the real issue of controlling the bad behaviour.
we can also talk about the same situation with the manta points, don kalo, madivaru, lankan, they are not as good as they used to be and its for the same reason but are you going to blame tagging for this as well when theres no more big animals to enjoy and the tourists go and visit the countries that are protecting their natural assets. have a look at ningaloo reef in australia as a perfect roll model and go from there.
They claim to be 'charity' workers - which is partly true coz they get the money from donations - 'selling' our whaleshark for US $ 200...as christmas presents!!!!.....how cool is that--- have a great holiday and let others pay for it in the name of reserch....
Guys ...maybe goverment might give u the permit back....But then u will be in our hands!!!.... we will finalise it face to face!!
Sorry! That was meant to say of all of the Marine Biologists I know I don't know any rich ones.
DAM - do you support the safari boat that threatened the researchers with a knife? Was it one of your members? seems you dont mind researchers getting attacked
here is bbc article about tagging which says it is safe and doesnt harm the whale sharks. i don;t know aobut tagging myself. i would want to see both side's point of view backed up with evidence first.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8033706.stm
I'm not sure why people are asking all foreigners to leave since a lot of our success and the worlds, depends on working together =/
How on earth is that going to help anything.
Ahmed Mohamed: A BBC article interviewing the people in question; you really think the reporter did some sort of investigation into whether or not they're harmful, or she just said that because that's what she was told?
Have you seen the thing? Try shooting it at an elephant. I've seen videos of tagging, the shark does seem to react to the shock.
Ofcourse the scientific way to see if it has any effect would be to repeatedly tag and observe if they come back. Not the safest thing to do huh. Anything in the name of science.
This doesn't make the people crusading in the name of money any better though.
Another thing;
Divers - Whale sharks are decreasing due to research
Researchers - Whale sharks are decreasing due to divers!
Researchers - Wait, whale sharks are increasing!
So....what's happening really?
DAM will not and did not support any attacks - which is the reason why we are going through the relevent authorities to find a solution.
Minivan no more
A group calling itself the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme MWSRP, registered as a UK charity, has had its research permit temporarily suspended by the Maldives government. This follows clashes with local divers and complaints by the Maldives Divers Association MDA to the authorities about the research methods used and the possible impact on marine life. The conflict is fast developing into an all out propaganda war, with one of the country's top news source taking sides.
In this Minivan News article, the writer JJ Robinson dedicates 721 words out of a total of 1401 words to MWSRP’s own version of the events, painting a picture of uncivilized, uneducated Maldivian divers from dive safari liveaboards engaged in guerrilla tactics to sabotage all-important research being done by enlightened Westerners.
As if that were not enough, Robinson gives an additional 173 words to an official of the Diva Island Resort and Spa to describe crew of liveaboards as bottom-baring, reckless louts, out to cause harm to other people’s guests. Robinson does not bother to interview a single liveboard crew or diver against whom his article levies serious allegations. Indeed, only 201 words are given to a representative of the Maldives Divers Association, currently raising concern with the government about the methods used by the MWSRP, which may be causing of the dwindling number of whale sharks in the protected area.
JJ Robinson’s article is a glaring example of the violation of the code of impartiality, a fundamental ethic of good journalism, and it seriously undermines the pioneering work done by Minivan News to raise reporting standards in the Maldives.
Minivan means independent in Maldivian a, claim Minivan News can no longer make.
" Gratuity scheme to generate income for marine park (By JJ Robinson)Minivan News
Luxury resort Diva Maldives has introduced a voluntary gratuity scheme to encourage guests to contribute to the whale shark conservation.
The resort is located in the Maldives’ first regulated Marine Protected Area (MPA), Fenmaadhiguran, which is home to a globally significant number of whale sharks. The resort claims that the income from the gratuity scheme will allow improved business, education and employment opportunities for the local community.
The 42 kilometre MPA was opened in July after lobbying by the conservation charity Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme. The charity claims the MPA will protect important species and habitats in the area from overfishing, unregulated tourism and pollution."
http://minivannewsarchive.com/news-in-brief/2009/12/23/gratuity-scheme-to-generate-income-for-marine-park/
The amount of xenophobic comments here is astonishing. What has all this got to do with being foreign or native? lets talk in other terms.This is not some lawless country with cowboys run the show. If there is a problem with the researchers or the methodology lets take it through the correct channels and deal with it.And lets hear their side also. Each party is accusing the other of driving away the whale sharks. The way those mentioned safari boat crew is behaving brings shame to us maldivians. Threatening and harassing the researchers and harrasing Diva guests, don't they realize in the long run they will be hurting themselves.I wonder what the clients on board these safaris will think if they see this kind of behaviour. and DAM should be playing the role of a mediator and getting to the bottom of it, instead of jumping to conclusions.Shameful the behaviour of these cowboy safari's, not to mention the bad publicity they are generating for the maldivian tourism industry.
I am happy they cancelled the research permit of Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP).
I say cancel their visas too!
We do not need these so called researchers to do their business on Maldivian waters.
MWSRP research team and Government of Maldives no need to talk anymore..because these guys they already sold some of our Whale Sharks and Manta Rays to tourists who visit to those resorts who fund them and feed them,
We just need to find a law which says that MWSRP research team can sell our under water animals,.. If there is no LAW or Permit about it, then there is no question, they needs to leave Maldives.
They are saying that they tagged last year, why can't tell to all the safari boats that whale shark won't come towards surface this time.or why can't they tell us where to go and find them,
so all the liveaboards and resorts can be scheduled to find the whale sharks. I think if they love these animals that much, they would atleast tell us not to burn that much fuel everyday.they can give us time when the whale shark can meet us on the surface.
what i don't understand is, they know everything through this tags, but still they don't want to share any information through the government, DAM, neither with the resorts or Liveaboards.
I think they have to be sent to Afghanistan to tag their own soldiers there, so that they can keep track of their soldiers.i'm sure families of those soldiers will be so happy to know their daily movements.
Sponsor a Whale Shark this Christmas
“122 Whale Sharks currently in the database, there are also a small number of whale sharks without names at present, allowing sponsors to give them whatever name they desire….
Sponsors will have exclusive access to information regarding their whale shark including when and where they have been sighted and how much they have grown”
http://www.easier.com/63490-sponsor-a-whale-shark-this-christmas.html
This mean 122 whale sharks are tagged, without tags how,” when and where they have been sighted and how much they have grown” can be recorded.
Is this a research or a business in the name of conservation? They want tag more…
When all these issues are popping up, where are the Regulatory Bodies...Have they been sleeping? EPA and Marine Research...We should not blame divers or researchers; they all have to be guided and monitored by these authorities.
In conclusion Maldives government shouldn't give them any kind of Research permit. The best is to cancel their tourist VISA. If the government give them Research Permit again, then the Marine Police or Coast Guard better be there at Protected Marine Areas to protect them as well.
good luck to all, and hope MWSRP Researchers and their associates and their supporters leave Maldives soon.
the reaction of HUSSAIN is typical of one or two cowboy safari boat who don't give a damn about anything but making money.
So you're going to kill the researchers are you HUSSAIN? When your face and your boat in on front page of BBC lets see how many guests come aboard.
FYI i'm not a diver nor liveaboard operator.
MWSRP or any other group tagging should stop now!! there are other friendlier ways to study and observe whale sharks.
need not be a marine biologist to figure out that by continuously hitting an animal that its going to return to you every day with a big smile on its face
Why do we need a bunch of foreigners to cause such an upheaval? Don't we have enough problems without them?
Why do we have a foreign team conducting research on our animals in the first place?
Hani, judging by your comments you’re obviously a clever person so surely it would make sense to conduct a little more research on the MWSRP before making your statements and fuelling the ‘propaganda war’ mentioned on this page therefore doing yourself justice. Upon researching the MWSRP (reading their publications, the letter to the editor etc etc) they have some very good data and some would say they are among the best in the world. Indeed, their peers have expressed this in the past.
One particular comment that fuels the fire would be:
Divers – Whale sharks are decreasing due to research, Researchers – Whale sharks are decreasing due to divers! Researchers – Wait, whale sharks are increasing!
What everyone should take into account is that MWSRP have said all along that there are less sharks where there is most traffic. Therefore more sharks are encountered away from the mayhem. This is supported by the impact of tourism studies carried out at Gladdens Spit Belize and Holbox Mexico where these issues have been dealt with proactively and with reasonable success. Both sides of the issue have some merit, however, the claims that tagging scare away sharks are just not supported. Furthermore, the research in Belize suggested that it was boat engine noise and variance more than anything that impacted sharks. (i.e. more boats zooming around, less sharks). On the other hand, more folks but less boats caused little impact.
It is also important to realise that the tags merely store the data until such times as they are recovered (YOU CANNOT TRACK THE SHARKS REALTIME). So, I think it is Hussein who has left a comment about removing tags, you (or the divers you mentioned) could’ve been a part of the research and acknowledged on a scientific paper if you had returned the tags to the MWSRP.
From someone who loves the Maldives – please deal with this issue by opening some dialogue between everyone and work together to help your country remain one of the most beautiful places on earth. After all, apparently that is what you are all trying to achieve.
Lots of mysteries are there around the MWSRP program.
First if whale sharks are migratory, why tag them in Maldives and not else where.
Also the purpose of tagging seems to be to make a business out of it in future. Who knows, these guys might start whale shark watching tours now that they know where to find the sharks by satellite.
Why is the Government quiet about all this. Isn't this a scam?
Everyone who comes to the maldives knows that these creatures are in the open and there is a chance to see them but to promise and to know there where abouts its just natural to me.
The luxury resorts or liveaboards promising the nature sounds very low.
Strict rules has to be enforced for dive professionals and researchers to operate in the Maldives. but not the one like the Recreational diving regulations of the Maldives. this was aregulation written by some one who have possibly never been in the water.
what's most amusing - or depressing, depending on your viewpoint - is that the Dive Association think they are doing maldives a big favour, hounding out these impure, crusading infidels.
sadly, DAM's arrogance and xenophobia will only create bad press coverage for maldives as a nasty place where reserchers are chased away by greedy safari boats and boneheaded dive masters... and the sharks will continue to get bashed and mistreated as a result.
when this story is out, DAM and the safari mafia can kiss goodbye to all those foriengers you hate but whose tourist dollar you so crave.
also, is it just me or do DAM have a huge inferiority complex that is driving all their racism?