Whale Shark Conference in Belize September 12, 2006
From our affilliate in Honduras, Steve Fox:HiI know that most of the people registered on this site at the moment are not from the Caribbean region, but just to let you know that there is a Whale Shark Conference in Belize on the 25, 26, 27, 28 September 2006As sent to me today here are the details, if anyone would like anymore information please feel free to contact me, I am based in Utila and will be going to it.WorkshopWhale shark tourism management: developing guidelines for best practices in the Mesoamerican Reef RegionPlacencia, BelizeSeptember 25-28, 2006RationaleDespite the surveys and other research studies conducted on the whale shark aggregation in several sites along the coast of Belize and Mexico, the information gathered is not enough to understand the dynamics of the whale shark feeding aggregations and the impact of observation by tourists or researchers on its site fidelity.The expansion of whale shark observation tourism, the potential threat of inadequate practices or unregulated operations to its sustainability, and the increasing importance of these operations to facilitate the transition of fishers to less impacting and more profitable economic activities, have made all stakeholders interested in developing guidelines for best practices.