Economic Studies ASAP

[James Catlin]

Hi Everyone

Brad and I are trying to put together a summary on the economic studies conducted on whale shark tourism, plus any info on catches (if available). This needs to be done as soon as possible, so if you have any information on the above then can you please post it and/or send it to me at james.catlin@gmail.com

Cheers

James

[AshtonGriffin]

These are questions I had, if I knew what type of information is needed. I'll know what to try to find for you.

1-) Specific Time Frame of Whale Shark Tourism (I.E. 2005-2007).
2-) Do aquariums count?
3-) Global or particular areas?
4-) This one may answer most of my questions; however, What would you qualify as whale shark tourism?

My Best,
Ashton

[James Catlin]

Hi Ashton

Thanks for the interest. To answer your questions we are not looking at any specific time frame; we are not considering aquariums on ethical and conservation grounds (although they do fall under the category of whale shark tourism); We are hoping for information from anywhere around the world; and whale shark tourism is any form of tourism that has whale sharks as its focus.

Cheers

James

[AshtonGriffin]

Not sure if this is what you were looking for, but I found it to be a great read. *Update, added another article*

1) http://www.yale.edu/tri/pdfs/bulletin2005/042Bull05-Quiros.pdf
2) http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/marine/news/index.cfm?uNewsID=23534

3-)http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T6N-4MC12HB-8&_user=10&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2007&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=1d5bf50a81c3391a9ab75933c2aa4935

This is a comprehensive list of Whale Shark Dive Sites.
 1-)  http://www.divedarwin.net/ (Galapagos Islands, From August-September, preferred dive site is Darwin's Arch, Could not find anything mentioning cost)

 2-) http://www.cevichetours.com/ (Isla Mujeres, Mexico, From May to September, Peak season is June - September,Cost is 125.00 American Dollars for a one day trip.)

3-) http://www.sdsharkdiving.com/Trips/HOLBOX/holbox_07.html(Sandiego Dive Website that takes a trip to Holobox Mexico, Specific Trip is July 3-7 2008, Cost is 1500.00 American Dollars includes minus airfare.)

4-)


Whale Shark Dive Experiences-
1-) http://www.infiltec.com/oki-0902/ (October 2002, Yomitan Village, Okinawa, Cost is 115.00 American Dollars for about 35 minutes, one male and one female kept in an enclosure.)
 
Whale Shark Dive Trip Report.
1-) http://www.sharkdivermag.com/newsletter-august-06.html (Late July 2006, Holobox Mexico, Could not find costs, estimated 100 whale sharks seen over 9 day trip, but does not mention if they identified 100 different sharks.)

Whale Sharks Found in Captivity-
1-)Izumito Sea Paradise Aquarium (1934, first known estimated to be kept for 122days.
2-)Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Japan. From 1980 to 1998, 16 whale sharks (14 males; 2             females)
3-)Georgia Aquarium (2005-Present.)


Other Whale Shark Tourism information-

1-) "Today, more than 7,000 tourists come to Donsol each year to interact with the giant sharks." (SRI, http://www.sharks.org/expeditions.htm, Under the 2008 Border, click on more info to download the pdf.)

This is just some information I was able to find. I do plan on going back later and performing a more detailed search. Going to see if I can find actual numbers for you.

-Some of the articles can be lengthy. If you need me to pull out specifics from the article just let me know.

My Best,
Ashton

agrifsb@gmail.com