The Shark Trust: Whale Shark dilemma - Comments needed

Shark Trust members will have read in the latest edition of Shark Focus about the Whale Sharks kept in captivity in Osaka, Japan, and about how the author had a dilemma between the personal satisfaction of seeing these beautiful animals and the practical, ethical and moral implications of keeping them in captivity.

In the USA Two Whale Sharks have been transported to the new Georgia Aquarium, which is due to open in November.

The article below is taken from this months Diver magazine.

Visitors to this site are invited to read the article and post their thoughts on this issue on the relevent thread in the forum, or to email their comments to enquiries@sharktrust.org

There are many questions prompted by keeping whale sharks in captivity. A selection to get you thinking are included below. We'd be interested in hearing your answers.

Does the educational value of being able to see these magnificant creatures outweigh the issue of them being held captive?

If the conditions they are kept in are good, does it make it ok?

Why is it not OK to keep them on display if it helps foster a love and respect for the oceans in youngsters who being in a landlocked state, haven't ever seen the sea?

Is it just pandering to our sense of personal satisfaction to see them in captivity no matter how well-intentioned or well-informed about the plight of the oceans we may be as individuals?

Let us know what you think!

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Taken from Diver Magazine, September 2005 edition
Whale Sharks in Atlanta Aquarium

Two whale sharks have been airlifted to Atlanta, Georgia from Taiwan, where they will be the new star attractions at the new Georgia Aquarium which opens in November, Writes Tim Ecot

The sharks were carried aboard a specially adapted Boeing 747 freighter that took 18 hours.

Ralph and Norton are just over 4.5M and 4M long respectively, and will be the first whale sharks kept in captivity in the USA.

Whale sharks have only previously been exhibited at the Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa, Japan, and many aquarists are sceptical of their chances of surviving in captivity. [There is also one in Kaiyukan Aquarium, Osaka, Japan, as featured in Shark Focus 23 – ST]

"It's absolutely unconscionable to do this to animals so rare" said Marie Levine of the Shark Research Institute in New Jersey, which has expressed disquiet about the move.

The Georgia aquarium will be largest in the USA and is set to contain more than 100,000marine organisms

The Aquarium, which is intended to revitalise a run-down area of the city centre has been financed by a $200million donation from Bernie Marcus, owner of the giant retain chain Home Depot.

Marcus told Diver that he made the endowment so that the children of Atlanta, many of whom have never seen the sea, will learn to appreciate the wonders of the oceans.

"I have always loved watching fish, but unfortunately could never learn to scuba dive due to ear problems" he said. I know that our oceans are in trouble and although I'm not a youngster, I think we have to teach the kids to take an interest in the marine environment. Going to an aquarium where we take education seriously must be a good way of delivering that message. Unlike many public aquaria, the Georgia Aquarium is devoting at least 25% of its floor space to educational facilities and will participate in research in collaboration with Florida’s Mote Marine Laboratory.

Challenged on the ethics of keeping white sharks in captivity, Marcus told Diver, "we are very aware of the threats posed to this amazing species, but if we had not purchased these fish, they were destined to be killed and eaten"

To ensure the health of the sharks, he said, the Georgia Aquarium had designed a very large tank that should give them more than enough space in which to swim comfortably – even if they reached their maximum estimated length of 14m.

The aquarium, a non-profit institution, has also applied for government permission to provide a new home for two beluga whales which for several years have been kept in unsuitable conditions at a funfair in Mexico City. To the dismay of animal rights campaigners, the two male belugas were originally acquired from Russia in 1998 and housed in a tank beneath a roller coaster.

External link: www.georgiaaquarium.org

Source: www.sharktrust.org