Management and Trade of

Whale Shark in Taiwan

Ting2009/Apr/16

Biology of Whale Shark

• Ontogenetic allometry

• a. 56 cm foetus

• b. 700 cm subadult Martin, 2007

• Aggregating at seasonal plankton blooms and invertebrate mass spawning.

Distribution

PADI Whale Shark Awareness

• PADI specialty course

• 8900 THB, 1 day, 2 dives

Taiwan’s Shark Fishery

• Catched by

• harpoon

• set net

• Sold as

• (smoky) shark meal

• shark fin

FAO s International Plan of Action for Sharks

1. Sustainable catches

2. Assess threats, and protect critical habitats

3. Attention to vulnerable stocks

4. Effective consultation

5. Minimize incidental catches

6. Protection of biodiversity and ecosystem

7. Minimize waste and discards from shark catches

8. Encourage full use of dead sharks

9. Species-specific catch and landings data

10.Reporting of species specific biological and trade data.

Conservation Status

• IUCN’s Red List

• CITES

• Appendix I

• The Bonn Convention

• The convention of the migratory species of wild animals

• Appendix II: unfavourable conservation status

• UN fish stocks agreement

Taiwan’s regulatory framework

• The Fisheries Law

• Limit or prohibit harvest, sale, fishing gear and fishing in certain grounds or periods

• The Wildlife Conservation Law

• According to CITES

• The Foreign Trade Act

• Restriction of exports and imports

• Monitory system

Monitory system

• Ban harvesting

• Whale shark

• Report after catch

• Basking shark

• Megamouth shark

• Great white

Methods

• Analysis of catch and trade data

• compared with TRAFFIC-India data

• Trade and market survey

• 85 marketplaces

• 1600 retail seafood stalls

• Restaurants => Telephone surveys

• DNA analysis

• Literature review and interview

Results

Catch data

Whale shark Size around Taiwan(Jan 2000 - Mar 2002) and

Veraval(1999 - 2000)

Catch Data(cont.)

Landing by county

Jan 2001-Mar 2002

International Trade

• Volume exports and imports, Taiwan 1996-2001

Newspaper reports

• No. of Whale Shark items in Taiwan’s major newspapers, by topic, Jan 1996 - Nov 2001

Market Survey

Whale Shark meat

distribution

Landing Price for whole sharks

• Landing and price records of whole Whale Shark found in the Taiwan press

Whale shark products• Fin

• of poorer taste, and harder to prepare, than the expensive Basking Shark fin

• USD 12.83/kg

• Meat

• USD 13.93/kg by 1997

• Smoked meat

• USD 9.26/kg

Taipei’s wholesale market and prices

• Wholesale records for Whale Shark, Feb 1998 - Aug 2001

Discussion

Catch data

• Apparent decline in catch could be attributable to a reduction in Whale Shark numbers.

• Whale Sharks harvested around Taiwan < 7 m in length and averaged 4.65 m (average 7.7 m at maturity). (Fowler, 2000)

Market data

• Market having grown significantly since the mid-80s.

• Localized availability

• need to process and sell quickly owing to rapid build up of ammonia

Comparing market and catch data

• approximately 27 t of meat could be obtained from this catch

• Taipei sold a total volume of 42 t of Whale Shark between Jan and Aug 2001

• Imported illegally from India and Philippines.

• Current political situation between China and Taiwan

• Whale Sharks caught near Taiwan have tender meat

Conclusions

Recommendations

• Investigate the claims that imported Whale Shark meat is entering Taiwan through unofficial channels and, if necessary, introduce measures to address this

• Review the merits of alternative uses of Whale Shark, such as ecotourism, by conducting a feasibility study

• Promote international co-operation, for example, tagging

Reference

• Martin, R. A. (2007). "A review of behavioural ecology of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus)." Fisheries Research 84(1): 10-16.