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New "SPLASH" tags
fitted in May 2005 have logged information on location, swimming
depth and water temperature at one-minute intervals.
The tags transmit
summary data at six-hourly intervals via polar-orbiting satellites
fitted with ARGOS receivers and are expected to have an 18-month
lifespan.
This type of tag is
more accurate and long lasting than previous tags used on whale
sharks and have allowed researchers to follow the tracks of these
animals out in the open ocean in real time, by downloading the
information from the satellite to a computer. |
AIMS' scientists are using satellite
technology to track the whale sharks that visit Ningaloo Reef in
Western Australia.
Photo: G. Taylor
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AIMS, CSIRO, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s Pacific Isands Fisheries Science Center,
Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (California), the WA Department of
Conservation and Land Management, the Australian Government’s
Department of the Environment and Heritage, BHP Billiton Petroleum,
Woodside Energy and Chevron are partners in the research.
Other research using photographs taken over the last 12 years
(1992-2004) has enabled AIMS’ scientists to identify distinctive
patterns and markings on individual whale sharks. With the help of
Charles Darwin University (CDU) in the Northern Territory, population
estimates have been established using computer models.
This study estimates the Ningaloo aggregation at approximately
individuals with many of the same animals returning to cruise the
coast of Ningaloo in successive years. The numbers of sharks suggest
they are more vulnerable than scientists had anticipated.
Improved knowledge of the movement patterns of the whale sharks
will form the basis of wise management and conservation plans for this
species in Australia, and assessment of likely impacts from overseas
fisheries.
