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whaleshark conservation faces diverse issues in varying degrees of time and space. Lois Moriel, Mexiconservación
volunteer and Master's level student at the Stockholm Resilience Center (Sweden) is currently working on a
project that includes all the issues involved in the use and management of this species in Mexican Atlantic.
The whaleshark (Rhincodon typus) is the largest fish in the world, and lives in tropical and temperate oceans. It is
easily identified by its large mouth, flat head and distinctive white spots on its dark skin. Because of the similarity
between its appearance and the popular game pieces, on Mexico's Atlantic coast this filter-feeder is commonly
known as Domino.
Historically, local fishermen have reported on the aggregations that take place along the northeast tip of the
Yucatan Peninsula. These are currently considered among the largest and most numerous of their kind.
According to CONANP (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas) 173 individual whalesharks were
identified in 2004, in comparison 162 were identified in Ningaloo, Australia and 47 in Belize. These aggregations
are due to the ocean currents, which favor algal blooms in the region from the end of may towards the first part
of September.
While the IUCN clasifies the whaleshark as a vulnerable species, primarily due to fishing in Asia, in Mexico the
whaleshark-based tourism industry has undergone explosive growth. Its tameness, accessibility (they aggregate in
shallow coastal waters) and seasonal predictability have allowed for its non-extractive use to increase steadily.
Initially, permits were only issued to promote sustainable development alternatives in the communities of Chiquilá
and Holbox. In 2005 Cancun and Isla Mujeres were also allowed access to these lucrative tours (which according
to CONANP, generated over a million dollars in 2007) increasing the number of boats, and conflicts, in the
whaleshark feeding zone.
Lately, tour wholesalers have begun to demand that tour operators include their own guides and cameramen on
the boats, which places greater pressure on them to break the tour rules which they drafted and approved in
2003.
This research aims to determine just how external factors influence how authorized tour operators carry out their
activities, which in turn determines social sustainability, as well as that of the species. The distance from the
resource, the cost-benefit of the operations, and the relationships with wholesalers are among the external factors
to be analyzed.
volunteer and Master's level student at the Stockholm Resilience Center (Sweden) is currently working on a
project that includes all the issues involved in the use and management of this species in Mexican Atlantic.
The whaleshark (Rhincodon typus) is the largest fish in the world, and lives in tropical and temperate oceans. It is
easily identified by its large mouth, flat head and distinctive white spots on its dark skin. Because of the similarity
between its appearance and the popular game pieces, on Mexico's Atlantic coast this filter-feeder is commonly
known as Domino.
Historically, local fishermen have reported on the aggregations that take place along the northeast tip of the
Yucatan Peninsula. These are currently considered among the largest and most numerous of their kind.
According to CONANP (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas) 173 individual whalesharks were
identified in 2004, in comparison 162 were identified in Ningaloo, Australia and 47 in Belize. These aggregations
are due to the ocean currents, which favor algal blooms in the region from the end of may towards the first part
of September.
While the IUCN clasifies the whaleshark as a vulnerable species, primarily due to fishing in Asia, in Mexico the
whaleshark-based tourism industry has undergone explosive growth. Its tameness, accessibility (they aggregate in
shallow coastal waters) and seasonal predictability have allowed for its non-extractive use to increase steadily.
Initially, permits were only issued to promote sustainable development alternatives in the communities of Chiquilá
and Holbox. In 2005 Cancun and Isla Mujeres were also allowed access to these lucrative tours (which according
to CONANP, generated over a million dollars in 2007) increasing the number of boats, and conflicts, in the
whaleshark feeding zone.
Lately, tour wholesalers have begun to demand that tour operators include their own guides and cameramen on
the boats, which places greater pressure on them to break the tour rules which they drafted and approved in
2003.
This research aims to determine just how external factors influence how authorized tour operators carry out their
activities, which in turn determines social sustainability, as well as that of the species. The distance from the
resource, the cost-benefit of the operations, and the relationships with wholesalers are among the external factors
to be analyzed.
SUSTAINABILITY OF WHALESHARK
WATCHING AND SWIM-WITH TOURISM
ACTIVITIES
WATCHING AND SWIM-WITH TOURISM
ACTIVITIES