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Two very different reports from different parts of the world. Australia is reports the conservation and observation of whale sharks in their natural environment. Whale shark tourism accounts for about AUD$12 million revenue to Western Australia a year. These creatures are meant to be in the wild. They have a huge migratory range and the only real way to appreciate them is in their natural environment! Whale shark magnificence in marine park
23rd December 2008, 8:45, The West Australian
Ningaloo Marine Park gives visitors an opportunity to swim with the whale sharks when the magnificent creatures migrate to the marine park's warm waters each year between late March and June.
The whale shark is listed as a vulnerable species and prior to 1985, there were less than 350 confirmed reports of whale sharks worldwide.
Since then, their recorded annual migratory appearance at Ningaloo Marine Park has helped researchers to find out more about this incredible species. This is an article from Mangalore, India, where some fishermen celebrate catching a whale shark. This very different from Gujarat in ‘shark’ focus ahead of introducing whale shark tourism posted earlier. Conservation policy across different countries and even different states are often inconsistent this way. Whale sharks are listed as Endangered under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and are supposed to be protected from capture and trafficking. Funny how a whale shark is going to be captured for a Singapore aquarium then! I think if we let this continue our whale shark will soon be like the picture below! Mangalore: Jumbo Catch - Fishermen Land 1200 kg Shark Fish
Monday, December 22, 2008 10:49:11 PM (IST), Daijiworld Media Network
Mangalore, Dec 22: The local fishermen caught a tiger (Whale?) shark weighing around 1,200 kgs when they ventured into the Arabian Sea, off New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), here on the afternoon of Monday December 22.
The local fishermen fishing off the NMPT, in their outboard fitted mechanized boat ‘Jala Vijaya’ found a tiger shark entangled in their fishing net. The fishermen on board the boat sought the help of others to tow into port, what is thought to be, the largest ever fisheries catch to date.
The prized tiger shark was finally brought to shore near Bunder and attracted a huge crowd eager for a glimpse of the mammoth fish.
Let's make sure these endangered and beautiful sharks are free in the wild!
Great news from China! China's Largest Shopping Site Bans Sale of Shark Fin Products
BEIJING, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW-http://www.ifaw.org.cn/) congratulates Taobao (http://www.taobo.com.cn/), China's largest shopping website for its ban on the sale of shark fin products on the site. Taobao.com announced to its 400 million online members that all shark fin products will be banned from trade on Taobao.com starting 1, January 2009.
Asia is the main market for shark fin products. In major cities in China, shark fin soup is readily available on the menu in restaurants. With the coming of Chinese New Year Festivals, shark fin soup consumption will significantly increase.
However, fueled by big profit margins and the increase in shark fin consumption, overfishing of sharks is threatening more than 50 percent of the shark species with extinction. As top predators in the ocean, sharks play an important role in keeping ecosystem balance. However, an estimated 100 million sharks are killed globally each year.
"Consuming shark fin is not only harmful to the marine biodiversity, but promotes the cruel practice of shark finning, where sharks had their fins cut off then thrown back into the ocean, still alive, die a horribly painful death." said Grace Gabriel, IFAW's Asia Regional Director. "It is our choice as consumers to say No to shark fin products. Consuming wildlife equals killing."
Taobao's decision to ban shark fin was also applauded by its users. In an online message, a Hangzhou netizen condemns the shark fin trade by posting shocking pictures of shark finning. According to this posting, 5000 Kilos of shark fin are consumed daily in Beijing alone. Active Taobao users also call on others to report online shark fin sales to site management when the notice takes effect in January.
Peter Pueschel, IFAW's Program Manager hailed the move. "This is really amazing and wonderful that the leading cyber market provider in the biggest shark fin consumer nation bans shark fins. What a strong signal to other auction sites and governments in other parts of the world!"
Should you be afraid of sharks?
By MICHAEL FOX - Stuff.co.nz Friday, 19 December 2008
Few creatures capture the imagination or instil such a sense of fear as the shark, but scientists believe that fear is unreasonable.
NIWA shark expert Malcolm Francis tries to put the threat of an attack into context:
"Humans are a top predator ourselves and we don't like the idea that there is another predator out there that is bigger and stronger than we are and might eat us.
"But, having said, that there's a lot more people killed every year by tigers, lions, hippos round the world than there are by sharks and yet we seem to have this real fear of sharks and what they might do to us."
It appears a lot of the fear and misinformation about sharks comes from a startling lack of scientific information.
What science has told us is that shark numbers are drastically low. Nineteen of the world's shark species are listed as vulnerable, 17 endangered, and four critically endangered, according to the 2000 World Conservation Union Red List. Four New Zealand sharks - including the basking, spiny dogfish, whale and great white - were listed as vulnerable. Humans kill more than 100 million sharks worldwide each year, in recreational and commercial fishing. Though Great Whites have been protected in New Zealand since 2007, many are still caught in nets and on long lines by commercial fisherman.
One thing is certain: sharks across the globe are in danger of being wiped out. There are already vast areas of the ocean where sharks have been fished out, Francis says.
Francis believes people have a moral imperative to protect sharks. But only further research and policy change will save them.
An article from David Suzuki about the endangered basking shark. He is so cool, like real like Mr Miyagi! Basking in shame
By David Suzuki with Faisal Moola, Canoe.ca, December 18, 2008
The basking shark is huge – often bigger than a bus. As fish go, it’s second in size only to the whale shark. It has been roaming the world’s oceans for at least 30 million years. Mariners throughout history have mistaken it for a mythical sea serpent or the legendary cadborosaurus. Despite its massive size, it feeds mostly on tiny zooplankton.
Only half a century ago, people taking a ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island may have spotted half a dozen lazily swimming by. But now, reported sightings are down to fewer than one a year off the B.C. coast. All indications are that this magnificent animal is on the edge of extinction. It makes my blood boil!
Over the past two centuries, people have been killing them for sport, for food, for the oil from their half-tonne livers, and to get them out of the way of commercial fishing operations. Many were also killed accidentally by fishing gear.
These animals need to be protected under strong species at risk legislation. When one species goes extinct, the repercussions cascade throughout the environment. We can’t afford any more losses.
I just found this whale shark cartoon by Singaporean cartoonist sei-ji rakugaki. 
Many people I talk to don't know that Singapore is planning to have a whale shark in captivity, and all of them are shocked when they find out. I am sure that most Singaporeans will be against this cruel tourist circus act disguised as "conservation", so please spread the word!
More CNN coverage on shark fin soup. Shark fin soup alters an ecosystem
December 10, 2008 -- Updated 1813 GMT, By Lisa Ling Special to CNN CNN Photo Gallery
Sharks existed before there were dinosaurs and they pre-date humans by millions of years. Yet, in a relatively short period of time, humans and their technological arsenal have driven most shark populations to the verge of extinction.
This is bad news for the world's oceans. Sharks are the top predator in the ocean and are vital to its ecosystem. The rapid reduction of sharks is disrupting the ocean's equilibrium, according to Peter Knights, director of WildAid International.
"These are ecosystems that have evolved over millions and millions of years," said Knights. "As soon as you start to take out an important part of it, it's like a brick wall, you take out bricks [and] eventually it's going to collapse."
When sharks attack humans, it inevitably makes news - it is a sexy story. What is rarely reported is that worldwide, sharks kill an average of 10 people every year. It's usually when people venture into a shark's habitat and not the other way around. By contrast, humans kill around 100 million sharks every year - a number that has ballooned in recent years because of the enormous demand for shark fins to make shark fin soup.
To satiate the appetites of upwardly mobile Chinese, fishermen traverse all corners of the Earth's oceans in search of sharks or, more specifically, their fins. Because space is limited on fishing vessels and shark bodies are bulky and not considered as valuable, fishermen often catch the sharks, saw off their fins and toss the sharks back into the water. Without their fins, sharks cannot swim and they sink to the ocean floor, where they're picked at by other fish and left to die.
The fate of the shark is grim. Increasing public awareness of the shark's role in the marine ecosystem and the rapid rate of extinction because of the demand for shark fin soup may be the best hope for the shark, which has inhabited the planet for 400 million years.
A CNN commentary by Peter Knights from WildAid, who are pushing for an international ban of shark fin soup. WildAid is an international conservation organization focused on ending the demand for illegal and unsustainable wildlife products. He has researched the trade in shark fin for 10 years and has worked on conservation programs in 45 countries. Not only China, all Chinese should save the sharks! Commentary: Only China can save our sharks
December 10, 2008 -- Updated 1959 GMT, By Peter Knights Special to CNN
Though the cartilage from the fins has no real flavor and is basically just protein, this soup retains a cachet that can fetch more than $100 per bowl. It is bought for business dinners, banquets and weddings as an indication of high spending to "honor" guests, but it is leading to environmental vandalism on a massive scale worldwide.
Fishing for fins has spread to the most remote parts of the planet as easily accessible shark populations have already plummeted, some by up to 95 percent in the last fifteen years.
Although most shark fishing is completely unrestricted, in the few areas they are protected they are still being heavily poached. In the Galapagos Marine Reserve, up to 10,000 fins (2,500 sharks) have been seized in a single shipment and endangered sea lions and dolphins are used as bait.
That is why WildAid focuses on trying to end the demand -- the only long-term solution. WildAid believes that "when the buying stops, the killing can, too."
China's most popular star, Yao Ming, championed the program pledging to never again eat shark fin soup, generating 300 news stories.
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