USD Magazine, Summer 2000

I concentrate on staying clear of the line. With a nnol kick I return to my hoof - now I con ossemhle my radio frocking gear and follow the sharks movements hy hoof. giving me insight info how if utilizes the hoy. /Yl.ysterious and misunderstood. whole sharks ore relatively new to scientinc research. Although the species is the worlds largest nsh. ohserving them in the open ocean is a rare event. and esfimot,ng their numhers hos proven difficult Currently. the species IS listed OS 'data dencient" hy the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. and is thus categorized as "under threat. " though not endan– gered. Yet the threat is real The whole shark is heing har– vested hy Taiwanese nsheries. which sell the larger animals for up to $20.000 apiece to Taiwan markets. where shark meat soup con sell for $1.000 a howl. For a few months each year. the giant nsh make their home here in the plankton-rich wafers of Bahia de Los Angeles. allowing scientists a window of t;me for research. Through my studies. which examine the sharks ' feeding patterns and local movements. I hope to create a clearer picture of ifs feeding ecology and life history. I also om using my research to encourage /Yl.exicon officials to designate the hoy as a sanctuary for the shark as port of a whole shark management program. Despite their massive size - adults con reach lengths of 60 feet - whole sharks ore ' docile creatures. eoftng primarily microscopic plor.Jkfon living in the oceans surface wafers. Gentle and curious. they allow humans to swim alongside them. 'vt{hile currently not a com– modity on the /Yl.exicon shark-meat market. their easygoing nature cou(d make them easy forgets for hunting in the hays throughout the Seo of Cortez. These hays. however. also attract tourists who pay hig money - up to $2.000 for a nve-doy trip - to swim i:-ith whole sharks. Both Australia and the Philippines hove protected the animal and hove implemented eco-fourism. In on effort to

encourage /11exicon officials to do the some. I om presenting my data this sum: mer a; a symposium on the whole sharks natural history of "-he " . di '' vn,vers- 1 ad Autonomo de Baja California Sur The comm ·-1-., • · un,, I' ts very supportive of whole sho':k research andprotection. The towns Ejitlo Oocol landowners association) ,s ,n favor ofo s .,_ di . onc,uory urmg feed,ng months. regulating the numher ofhoofs that ore allowed ,n ~he ore~ as well as human/whole shark mferoctions. The town undelJS fonds that the whole shark ,s a voluohle eco-four,sm resource hut ·t J •, I 0/SO recognizes that the resource must he manage{properly Overexploitation may hove as much ofa negative ' effect as hunting if the sharks leave , known feed,ng grounds. making if more d,·fficult for them to nnd other sources of food. As a student. I om very excited to he working with a species that hos

m~noged to rema,n a mystery to science for so many veors 'Kn . th F . owmg of my research may confrihute to the eventual conservation of the species in /11exicon waters ,s exh,lo– these moanincent cre,....,__ . roting._It ,s important to me that ,7· u,r..,res ore gwen the . . fecfion they deserve. and ho efu/J, r~cogn,f10~ andpro- more thon;·ust a nn ,· "-h 'f' :Y. to he viewed someday as

n ,, e wafer.

Jon Nelson is finishing his master's degree in marine sci– ence at USO and hopes to continue his work in the world's oceans upon graduation. While research of this scale is usually reserved for doctoral students, Nelson used his own money, as well as donations from his parents USO th . ad · s • . es1s v1ser cott Eckert and grants from USO's TransBorder Institute to raise $5,000 for the proi·ect M . . . ex1can and American scientists and conservation groups are current! preparing a proposal for the Mexican Fund for Nat C Y s r ure on- erva ion to develop a whale shark conservation program.

A radio tag and small spear were among the tools used by graduate student Jon Nelson to track the giant whale shark.

SUMMER 2000

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