This summer, a group of divers on board the Nai’a were lucky enough to jump in at the North Save-a-Tack dive site to be greeted by not only a school of hammerheads, but also a 12-meter whale shark!
Whale sharks are extremely rare creatures—so rare, in fact, that they are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and in Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
The fact that they have been sighted within the Namena Marine Reserve confirms the health of the ecosystem within the Kubulau Qoliqoli. Johnny Singh from the Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort confirms a sighting by L’Aventure divers around this time two years ago, and once before that also. These repeat sightings suggest that the Namena Marine Reserve is on the migratory pathway for at least one individual.
Whale sharks are endangered for many reasons, including unsustainable fishing in parts of their range. Whale sharks are caught for their meat, fins, liver, cartilage, skin, and viscera. Increased levels of noise and pollution resulting from an increase in boat traffic may also have a negative impact on the migration patterns normally followed by whale sharks, through disturbance to habitat or individual sharks. Damage to ecosystems that whale sharks rely may result in changes to their behavior and migratory routes—another great reason to protect the precious coral reefs within the Kubulau Qoliqoli.