Introduction
The protection of whale sharks should begin with understanding how harmful the impact of human activities can be on this species. Rhincodon types, a scientific name for whale sharks, are the largest inhabitants of the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific, reaching more than 20 meters and 42 tons (Pierce & Norman, 2016; Weber et al., 2020). Whale sharks are big with flat heads, large mouths, and yellow spots on the grey back (Ebert et al., 2021). Although they are not dangerous to humans and eat plankton and small fish, they remain vulnerable and are under “Endangered” status on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Threats
People are the major sources of threat for whale sharks. Although illegal fishing and disrespectful behaviors are managed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, these risks cannot be ignored (Fisher, 2017; Pierce & Norman, 2016). Oil pollution because of maritime transport and ocean debris provokes behavioral changes and stress in whale sharks (Reynolds et al., 2022). There are also underwater noises and seafloor modifications that make sharks migrate urgently (Robinson et al., 2013, as cited in Reynolds et al., 2022). Finally, eco-tourism, including interference with wildlife, puts whale sharks at risk of stress and complicates food search and socialization (Montero-Quintana et al., 2020). Human behaviors have to be thoroughly examined and predicted not to challenge whale sharks.
Solutions
Today, people have access to many effective solutions to help whale sharks. One of the most evident changes is related to improved knowledge about this species. Not only environmentalists and fishers should know the basics of whale sharks but ordinary citizens must be educated (Reynolds et al., 2022). In addition to managing fisher activities through laws and regulations, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration continues tracking marine animals to control human interruption and offer administrative policies (Bates, 2021). If people reduce fishing and hunting in the sea and ocean, they minimize their unfavorable impact on the environment and sharks’ lifestyles.
Communication with an Expert
One of the steps in this project was communication with an expert in the environmental field. Several letters were sent to different organizations, and Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center replied soon. Abi S is a project manager in the company who shares several important recommendations on how to protect whale sharks. His ideas underline the worth of environmental protection as a significant human responsibility. He also talks about the necessity of paying attention to human roles concerning nature and recognizing how dangerous this impact can be. Water pollution is a serious problem in the modern world, and people should improve their education in this sphere. It is expected to promote responsible eco-tourism with minimal interference and enhance personal involvement. Such steps include communication with friends, participation in environmental campaigns, and modified eating habits.
The First Way To Help
The first step in helping save whale sharks is to improve education for communities and expand the knowledge of ordinary citizens about this species. A common solution is to increase safe observations of sharks’ behaviors and investigate how they move, eat, and socialize (Montero-Quintana et al., 2020). Such education will show the level of danger from humans and prove that some changes are critical. This way might include the distribution of explanatory brochures where people read some statistical data and the general description of whale sharks. The creation of short videos may also be interesting to the population to watch how whale sharks live and migrate for their unique purposes. Finally, it is important to explain why the information offered in different media sources is ambiguous and usually wrong. People should make their decisions and protect the environment by relying on real facts, not someone’s imagination.
Conclusion
Finally, saving whale sharks depends on people and their personal contributions with sophisticated decisions and steps. It is not enough to exclude meat or fish from their eating habits. People must control their behaviors and ensure they leave no garbage in the water. Cleaning activities and responsibilities are integral to whale sharks’ well-being, and people can take such simple steps regularly (Bates, 2021). In addition, if people reduce their shopping and decrease the demand for rare fish meat, hunting activities may be minimized. The decision not to visit aquariums and other places for entertainment where poor animals and fish are kept is another personal contribution to the discourse. Finally, an overall understanding that harm to the environment must be stopped is critical for achieving positive outcomes in saving whale sharks.
References
Bates, S. (2021). Five ways NASA helps with shark conservation. NASA.
Ebert, D. A., Fowler, S., & Dando, M. (2021). Sharks of the world: A complete guide. Princeton University Press.
Fisher, M. R. (Ed.). (2017). Environmental biology. Pressbooks.
Montero-Quintana, A. N., Vázquez-Haikin, J. A., Merkling, T., Blanchard, P., & Osorio-Beristain, M. (2020). Ecotourism impacts on the behaviour of whale sharks: An experimental approach. Oryx, 54(2), 270-275.
Pierce, S. J., & Norman, B. (2016). Rhincodon typus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Reynolds, S. D., Norman, B. M., Franklin, C. E., Bach, S. S., Comezzi, F. G., Diamant, S., Jaidah, M. Y., Pierce, S. J., Richardson, A. J., Robinson, D. P., Rohner, C. A., & Dwyer, R. G. (2022). Regional variation in anthropogenic threats to Indian Ocean whale sharks. Global Ecology and Conservation, 33.
Weber, J. A., Park, S. G., Luria, V., Jeon, S., Kim, H. M., Jeon, Y., Bhak, Y., Jun, J. H., Kim, S. W., Hong, W. H., Lee, S., Cho, Y. S., Karger, A., Cain, J. W., Manica, A., Kim, S., Kim, J. H., Edwards, J. S., Bhak, J., & Church, G. M. (2020). The whale shark genome reveals how genomic and physiological properties scale with body size. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(34), 20662-20671.