Thursday, September 2, 2010

They are famous for their white spots and it may be the key to their survival.

UAE residents are being asked for the first time to help save the world’s largest fish by photographing its white spots - but not any photo will do.

The world’s leading whale shark experts will be in Fujairah on December 12 to show us how its done, by taking a photo of the left side of the shark, where the fin meets the body.

The request is that specific because scientists are using NASA software that was previously used to check for new stars.

Marine biologists realised that the whale shark’s white dots could be checked just like stars - if they are in the same position as previous photographs, then scientists know they have seen this shark before.

“It’s a system that is working very, very well and it’s very exciting,” explains Chris Clark from Save Our Seas, who will be one of the key speakers at the Fujairah conference.

The system is run by the Ecocean whale shark project in Australia, which has little data from the Arabian Gulf.

With the public’s help, they could be able to trace the female whale sharks as they circle the Gulf to their birthing grounds.

That would be a massive find in the fight to save the species.

Conservationist filmmaker Jonathan Ali Khan notes that many females have been spotted off the UAE coast, while males are the ones most prominent in other parts of the world.

Iranian fishermen have also snared “post natal” or very young whale sharks, a very strong indication that the females come here to give birth.

“The female doesn’t start breeding until it’s 30 to 35 years old.

“That’s a long time and they may have a life span of 100 years or more,” said Khan.

Whale sharks are also unusual because their eggs hatch inside them.

“They can have about 300 live embryos inside them.

Many of the young won’t even make it past the birth and it will take 30 years before they themselves can breed.

Every individual counts,” said Khan.

Scientists are also hoping that the public will help solve another mystery - why the Gulf’s whale sharks are so much smaller than others around the world.

“I’m just back from Mexico where they are much, much larger,” said Clark. “It’s probably something to do with the food supply.

“We know that the whale sharks here dive very deep, which is a whole area of study in itself.”

The ever-changing UAE coastline may also be hurting the shark population, Khan believes.

The huge amount of sand kicked up by the palm islands and many other Dubai building projects is clouding the water.

The development may also be pushing nutrients to the ocean surface, leading to ‘red tide’ algae blooms that have smothered the east and west coasts this year.

“That may be why we are seeing so many whale sharks this year,” Khan told 7DAYS.

“They are hugging the coastline as the algae bloom spreads. It may be causing a lot of stress in the ecosystem,” he added.

It is the kind of mystery that Fujairah’s first Arabian Seas Whale Shark Research Symposium wants to solve.

The organisers hope to see strong support from the public, who will be told how their digital cameras can help save one of the ocean’s most graceful creatures.

“It could go a long way towards saving the species, said Khan. “It’s a very exciting project and everyone should gets involved.”

The workshop will be held at Meriden Al Aqah.

For more information on the event or to attend email Jonathan Ali Khan at sharkquestarabia@yahoo.com.

You can also check out the Arabian Seas Whale Shark Research Symp-osium on facebook.

sean.odriscoll@7days.ae