Chasing Sharks: A Dive into Whale Shark Tourism in the Maldives

A large group of Russian tourists swims around a whale shark in the South Ari Atoll, Maldives. Matt Reichel.

Ecotourism in Name Only?

It is a mad, chaotic scene. Legs and arms are flailing everywhere. People swim furiously next to each other with no respect for space. Occasionally, one swimmer dives over another just to capture a picture. Selfie sticks with GoPros attached to the ends jostle for position. There are no rules and a whole lot of indifference.

This is what whale shark tourism looks like near the warm ocean waters of South Ari Atoll in the Maldives. About 40 to 50 tourists, surrounded by more than a dozen boats, are on a rampaging mission to chase one whale shark, all for a trophy picture.

The picture is not even worth the damage. It is visible that there are 30 other people in the photo thrashing everywhere.

Young and agile local guides haphazardly shout at swimmers not to touch the animal, but nobody listens. The guides themselves dive down for photos with their own GoPros. One ignorant tourist, a Russian man in a swimming cap, reaches out to grab the animal repeatedly as it continues to swim through shallow, plankton-rich waters for food. Only when the waters reach a drop-off do the crowds subside, and the whale shark can swim again in normalcy, diving into the mysterious deep.  

Increased tourism poses a threat to whale shark survival. Ecotourism is designed to protect and safeguard whale sharks and to be supportive of conservation. However, as it plays out in the South Ari Atoll, ethical ecotourism practices are not seriously considered, and mass tourism in its current, unregulated state is resulting in increasing abuse towards the animals. The region has experienced a 33% reduction in the number of whale sharks visiting the area annually between 2014 and 2019.

Whale sharks are passive in behaviour. The creatures can grow up to 18 meters in length -- although it is rare to spot one larger than 12 meters -- and could hypothetically knock over a group of 40 with just a slight movement of their body, but they generally ignore these interactions. If startled, they swim away.

Obvious lacerations caused by speed boat propellers are visible on whale sharks in the South Ari Atoll. Over 45% of whale sharks observed in this area show visible damage by boat propellors. Images courtesy of M.W.S.R.P..

Animal harassment by boatloads of oblivious tourists is only part of the problem. Whale sharks are being injured consistently by tourist and fishing boats, and only one of these factors has increased significantly over the last decade-- tourist speed boats. The creatures are sustaining more injuries here than ever before in history. 

According to a 2019 report from the Maldivian-run NGO Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme, M.W.S.R.P., the percentage of sharks seen with apparent boat injuries had jumped from 24% in 2006 to 45% in 2019. Along the same lines, the average number of injuries experienced by a whale shark had tripled over the same period. They are not the only ones. Turtles and manta rays are also caught in the crossfire of aggressive boating and tourism practices.  

International tourism is a key income generator for the Maldives. Ecotourism should be hypothetically focused on conserving these animals and the local communities supporting them, but there is a lack of regulation geared towards whale shark protection and conservation.

Tourists surround a lone whale shark in the off Dhigurah Island in the Maldives. Matt Reichel.

From Hunters to Tourism Stakeholders

In the past, Maldivian fishing communities hunted whale sharks for their fins and liver oil. Fishermen used shark liver oil to waterproof the hulls of their dhonis (fishing boats). Because of this practice, the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture imposed a fishing ban in 1995.

Since then, diving tourism became an important source of alternative income, where local fishing was not affected. The government erected the ban to encourage local communities to move away from harmful fishing, but the lack of actual regulation continues to affect the animals’ way of life.

The Maldivian government designated three areas within the Ari and Baa atolls as Marine Protected Areas in 2009. While this designation created a behavioural code of ethics, operators have no real incentive to follow the rules because there is no legality to the framework. If an operator fails to follow a rule, they are neither monitored nor penalized. 

According to the Maldivian Environmental Protection Agency, while three rangers have been assigned to the South Ari region, the timeline for implementation of regulations has been delayed due to their ranger vessel being under repair. Additionally, their management plan must be “revised after consulting with all the stakeholders” before becoming policy.

Theoretically, captains should have an incentive to safeguard the animals because whale shark tourism is their livelihood. However, as it stands, captains are more concerned about pleasing their customers, trying to guarantee an interaction before their scheduled excursion time is up. 

According to the Code of Conduct, scuba divers and snorkelers are supposed to stay three meters away from the animal. They are also not allowed to touch the creatures or interfere with their direction of movement. Finally, the code states that the number of boats in the area should be limited and proximity to the whale sharks restricted.

In two different sightings at separate days and times, one in Dhigurah and the other on Maamigili, operators violated all these supposed rules.

Boats and jet-skis dropped passengers directly right in the path of the oncoming whale shark. There were more than a dozen boats in the vicinity, parked close together. Some of these larger “slow” boats returned to shore only to bring more tourists to dump onto the whale shark. 

People jumped into the water at the direction of their captains. And there were no efforts to educate people on keeping their distance. Tourists continuously swam in front of the animal or reached out invasively to touch the creature.

According to Chloe Winn, the in-field coordinator for M.W.S.R.P., “the Code of Conduct is advised, and there are rules that were laid out a long while ago in 2009, but at the end of the day, it’s unfortunately not enforced, so they are optional. We’ve been lobbying as an organization to get more enforcement, and we’ve trained up rangers for the EPA, but we’ve still yet to see them.”

She describes a large volume of tourist boats “speeding around desperately to get an encounter in before a two-hour trip to another atoll.”

Before the pandemic, M.W.S.R.P. was located in the middle of the action on Dhigurah Island. The organization has been lobbying for greater enforcement of rules.

Winn cites Ningaloo Reef in Australia as an excellent example of a location where operators work responsibly. “They have one boat per shark,” she explains. But here in the Maldives, “it grew so quickly without any kind of restriction that going back to a one boat rule would have people up in arms.” She recommends black boxes that track boat speeds and mandatory propeller guards, at the very least.

M.W.S.R.P. is working on getting the code of conduct shown in airports and on speedboat televisions as an interim solution.

In all cases, it is a matter of conducting practices more ethically and responsibly. As the Maldives determines a better way going forward, the country could learn from Mexico’s example, which has also experienced a massive increase in the number of whale shark tourists over the last decade.

A whale shark swims in the nutrient-rich waters of Mexico’s Sea of Cortes. Matt Reichel.

Following in Mexico’s Footsteps

Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, a region that also attracts a large number of tourists for whale shark swimming, recently published new rules in 2019 for its primary whale shark territory spanning La Paz Bay to Isla Espiritu Santo.

Visible measures have been put in place, including speed limits. Also, only five people are allowed in the water at a time, and they can only approach the animal from one direction.

The results are still being debated since it has only been a year, but there are visible improvements. According to La Paz-based marine guide David Emaús, “the amount of sharks hit by boats has decreased, and the way tourists conduct themselves in the water has improved since all guides have to undergo basic training.” 

The most significant improvement coming out of regulation is the certification of guides and captains. They must now undergo training and follow procedures. Before the Government enacted these rules, anyone with a boat could bring tourists into the area, and there were no limits around how many boats or people could be in the water at a time.

Tourists used to be able to bargain across captains for trips as low as $20 per person. Captains raced each other to attract customers and get to the whale sharks, and the whole economy was essentially a race to the bottom.

Captains must now be licensed to participate. Their boats are registered, geotagged, and monitored for illegal entry into the area, all under the guidance of the Mexican Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, SEMARNAT.

According to Mexican federal law, if tour boat captains break the rules, they risk losing their license, paying a fine of up to $13,000, or may even face up to nine years in jail.

Today, captains and guides strictly follow protocol in the protected areas along La Paz Bay. Not only are whale sharks more protected, but stakeholders have also benefited from these laws. As long as captains follow the rules, they can charge over $100 per person for a trip.

Emaús believes there is still room for improvement. An ideal scenario would be “to include kayaking in the area, so people can watch but not swim with them. This would allow more people to engage the shark in a low, impact way.”

A photographer dives with a whale shark responsibly in the Maldives. Matt Reichel.

A Necessary Conversation Worldwide

Whale shark conservation is a conversation worldwide. While the Maldives has a significant amount of work to do in terms of protecting whale sharks, the same could be said for other unregulated areas in the world, especially in locations where mass tourism is winning out against genuine ecotourism.

Tour operations in the Philippines, for example, will bait whale sharks, essentially dragging them out for hordes of tourists. The more people are aware of the risks, locally and internationally, the greater there can be a push for change.

Winn hopes for change in the Maldives. “It’s gone on so long, and it breaks my heart that management is put on the back burner. It’s a massive task, though,” she describes. “At the end of the day, if you follow the code of conduct, it means you will have a better encounter and a good impact on whale sharks instead of a negative one.”

Currently, responsible practices are not in place, and there’s no incentive for operators to think about ethical conduct. That could change with regulation if the Maldives government implements a legal framework that encourages local operators to follow the code of conduct and sustainably earn income at the same time.

The needs of the local communities are not balanced with the protection of the animals. And so, whale sharks continue to be disturbed and are at risk of injury and danger every day. 

Change needs to happen, or the Maldives risks losing these magnificent creatures.

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