May 12 , 2007
Reports: Atlanta getting 2 more whale sharks
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/251/story/33911.htmlATLANTA -
The world's largest aquarium will be adding two more whale sharks, according
to reports out of Taiwan.
Fisheries officials on the east Asia island are ready to approve the export
of two male whale sharks to the Georgia Aquarium, a Taiwanese whale shark
expert who has reviewed the aquarium's applications told the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution.
One of Taiwan's largest newspapers reported earlier this week that officials
have already signed off on the transfer.
"They will probably be exported to the United States in June," Zhuang
Shouzheng, an associate professor at National Taiwan Ocean University, told
the Atlanta paper.
A member of the committee studying the aquarium's export application, Zhuang
said he and others are awaiting some paperwork from the aquarium before
finalizing the deal.
The Georgia Aquarium declined comment on whether it plans to add more whale
sharks to its collection.
The whale sharks' arrival would raise to five the number of the creatures,
known as the world's largest fish, circling in the aquarium's Ocean Voyager
exhibit.
The decision to ship the sharks represents an apparent change in opinions
about the aquarium's care of the them. A male whale shark died at the
aquarium in January, prompting questions about a chemical used in their tank
to treat parasites, which could have curbed their appetite and led to
force-feeding of the fish.
The whale shark, named Ralph, died from peritonitis, an inflammation of the
stomach lining. He also had perforations in his stomach, possibly caused by
the PVC pipe used to force-feed him.
The aquarium has declined to release the necropsy report detailing the cause
of Ralph's death.
As late as last month, one fisheries official said he'd expressed
reservations about transporting whale sharks so far from their native waters
that they could not be returned if they became ill.
Now, said Zhuang, the committee reviewing the proposal to ship the whale
sharks 8,000 miles to Georgia see "no problems" with exporting them.
Zhuang said he and other committee members met with fisheries officials last
week to discuss the aquarium's applications. They compared the Georgia
Aquarium's care for its whale sharks with that offered by the three other
facilities in the world all in Asia that display them.
"We decided that there are no problems with their experience and techniques"
in handling the whale sharks, Zhuang said.
Taiwanese officials have signed off on the deal, reported the United Daily
News of Taiwan. In a brief article that appeared in Tuesday's edition, the
newspaper reported that "a council of agriculture already approved their
export."
