Vessels on whale shark tours to require propeller guards

Minister of Climate Change, Environment and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim has said that vessels on whale shark tours will be required to use propeller guards, with this change to be implemented within the next three months.

Speaking in a show on State TV last night, the minister said that the South Ari Marine Protected Area (SAMPA) in Alif Dhaalu atoll is a tourist hotspot, attracting thousands of tourists on whale shark tours each year.

However, despite efforts by preceding governments to enforce a robust management system for SAMPA, it remains unfulfilled to date, he said.

About a hundred tourists snorkel in the area at the same time to view whale sharks. There are often complaints that they do not have site managers during this excursion. As these excursions are conducted without any ruling guidelines, often speed boats and safaris are seen entering the area even while there are snorkelers in the sea.

Thoriq said that while in recent days, there has been tragic incidents where two tourists died through being hit by propellers, there are also often reports that whale sharks also often bear scars from being hit by propellers.

Hence, the government, within its first year in office, aimed to set in place a robust system of management of SAMPA, through discussions with island councils from the area, the public, guest houses, resorts, safaris and various associations.

The minister said that the regulation stipulating that vessels entering the area must use propeller guards will be published within the coming week, and will be implemented within the next three months.

The regulation also states that a speed boat will be designated to monitor excursions taking tourists to the area.

"Vessels will be registered in the next three months, with those on the vessels having received proper training, and propeller guards will be used, making this a safe and secure place for viewing whale sharks," he said.

The regulation will also determine speed limits for vessels entering the area. In addition to this, a guide must be assigned for every five tourists.

The minister said that there will be penalties against those who fail to abide by these regulations, with a committee having been now formed to address this.

The SAMPA area, where whale sharks can be viewed throughout the year, is 140 kilometers in size.

The first policy of protecting whale sharks and its environment was implemented on June 5, 2009. Last year, multiple amendments were brought to this.

This policy defines 250 meters around whale sharks as the contact zone, stating that no more than three vessels can be in the area at a time. Vessels must limit to speeds of maximum 5 knots per hour in the contact zone. Within a 50 meter boundary of whale sharks, speed must be further dropped to 2 knots per hour. In case of emergencies, speed boats can leave the area in speeds over 5 knots per hour.

Whale sharks were declared an endangered species in the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in July 2016.