Fish Wrangler
Registered
Good news! Taiwan will ban the catching of all whale sharks for any purpose in 2008. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Taiwan will ban the harvest and sale of whale sharks beginning in 2008, a decision that could have repercussions at the Georgia Aquarium and other facilities where the world's largest fish are displayed.
"From the beginning of next year there will be a total ban on catching and selling whale sharks and whale shark meat," Lan Wei-tern, a spokesman for Taiwan's Fisheries Agency, said Monday.
The ban strikes whale shark from Taiwanese grocery shelves and menus, and at other Asian markets where whale shark meat from Taiwan is consumed.
The ban also would halt Taiwan's export of whale sharks to aquariums. The Georgia Aquarium, the world's largest aquarium, has three whale sharks from Taiwan, a major supplier of whale sharks. It is negotiating to get two more this summer from the Taiwanese government, before the ban takes effect.
The scary statistic in this story was that Taiwan fisherman caught 270 whale sharks in 1995, a number that had dwindled to about 100 in 2001. Taiwan starting setting quotas, first for 80, then for 60, and this year for 30. Next year 0.
So no more whale sharks from Taiwan to get either eaten or imprisoned. And hopefully a few more whale sharks left to reproduce.
Here is the article in its entirety; you may need to register (it's free) to see it.
Taiwan bans whale shark consumption, trade by 2008
Taiwan will ban the harvest and sale of whale sharks beginning in 2008, a decision that could have repercussions at the Georgia Aquarium and other facilities where the world's largest fish are displayed.
"From the beginning of next year there will be a total ban on catching and selling whale sharks and whale shark meat," Lan Wei-tern, a spokesman for Taiwan's Fisheries Agency, said Monday.
The ban strikes whale shark from Taiwanese grocery shelves and menus, and at other Asian markets where whale shark meat from Taiwan is consumed.
The ban also would halt Taiwan's export of whale sharks to aquariums. The Georgia Aquarium, the world's largest aquarium, has three whale sharks from Taiwan, a major supplier of whale sharks. It is negotiating to get two more this summer from the Taiwanese government, before the ban takes effect.
The scary statistic in this story was that Taiwan fisherman caught 270 whale sharks in 1995, a number that had dwindled to about 100 in 2001. Taiwan starting setting quotas, first for 80, then for 60, and this year for 30. Next year 0.
So no more whale sharks from Taiwan to get either eaten or imprisoned. And hopefully a few more whale sharks left to reproduce.
Here is the article in its entirety; you may need to register (it's free) to see it.
Taiwan bans whale shark consumption, trade by 2008
