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July 24 (UPI) – Satellite tracking data suggest that the waters surrounding the Philippine archipelago are vital for endangered whale sharks.
In 2015 and 2016, researchers of the Grand Marine Vertebrates with 17 juvenile whale sharks. The most recent analysis of satellite data – published this week in PeerJ magazine – revealed the importance of the Philippine archipelago for whale sharks.
Scientists attached tracking devices floating above sharks. New types of satellite labels ensure that devices enter the surface more often, sending clear signals and providing more data.
During the follow-up period, the 17 whale sharks remained in the vicinity of the archipelago. Although traveling up to 30 miles a day – in the case of a male who swims quickly – whales have never left the islands.
Whale sharks are protected in the Philippines, but in 2016, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature passes the species from "vulnerable" to "endangered" due to declining spectacular of the population in the Indo-Pacific. Illegal fishing remains one of the greatest threats to the whale shark, Rhincodon typus .
In addition to the fight against illegal fishing activities, scientists say that habitat protection is essential for the conservation of whale sharks. Research like the latest satellite tracking survey can help environmental protectors decide where protections prove most beneficial.
"This research highlights the high mobility of whale sharks and even juveniles. , Said biologist Gonzalo Araujo in a press release
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