Djibouti Whale Shark Expedition 2010

From January 1st to 14th we will be again running a research expedition to Djibouti aboard the M.V. Deli to monitor the whale shark aggregation in the Gulf of Tadjourah. This year the trip is going to be somewhat different as it will also be a training programme for volunteers from all over the Arabian Peninsula who are involved in setting up an Arabian Whale Shark Research Programme (AWSRP).

Multiple sharks in the 2009 Djibouti expedition

The impetus for the AWSRP programme came local film maker Jonathan Ali Khan who for many years has documented the wildlife of Arabia and became committed to saving Arabia’s sharks before they went the way of so many shark populations. The Djibouti Expedition is once again be organised with Megaptera, a French based NGO, and their partner DECAN in Djibouti.

David & Katie visiting the DECAN Cheetah sanctuary after the 2009 expedition.

Last year the expedition had an amazing two weeks with a phenomenal 826 encounters with an identified 186 whale sharks. That was quite exceptional and we do not expect to get the same numbers again this year, but no matter how many sharks we see, the expedition will be a great opportunity for the keen AWSRP members to learn the skills needed for monitoring whale sharks in their own areas.

Because of the AWSRP involvement the expeditions are almost fully sold out, however, there are two places available for the first week (January 1st to 7th) so interested people should visit our web page for further details.