Stumpy the whale shark, who returns every year to Australia’s west coast, will in 2007 become the leader of a worldwide endeavour to conserve the world’s largest fish species.

Known affectionately to divers off WA’s Ningaloo Reef as “Stumpy” because of his deformed upper tail fin, the 7.5 metre whale shark has been a regular visitor to Australia since he was first spotted by divers in 1991.

But where Stumpy goes when he’s not cruising the WA waters is a mystery that marine scientist Brad Norman, of Perth, is determined to solve – to Indonesia possibly, Thailand, or maybe as far away as the coasts of India or Africa, he speculates.

“I first saw Stumpy myself in 1995 and he’s been back every season since then, regular as clockwork. Whale sharks can swim thousands of kilometres in a surprisingly short time, and if we can establish where he goes it will throw new light on the behaviour of the world’s largest fish, and on the health of food chains in the oceans,” Brad says.

Stumpy is catalogued as whale shark number one (A-001) in Brad Norman’s unique photo library www.whaleshark.org, where divers can log their sightings and images of individual whale sharks, adding to scientific understanding of the species.

Brad’s plan to take whale shark conservation and monitoring worldwide saw him honoured as a Laureate of the 2006 Rolex Awards for Enterprise and highly commended in Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell’s 2006 Award for Coastal Custodians.

“All we know of Stumpy is that he has this deformed tail – it’s possibly a birth defect rather than an injury – and he swims a bit slower than other whale sharks, which makes it easier to keep up with him and take pictures.

“He’s male and mature – possibly more than 30 years old and he shows up in Australia between April and June each year, along with other male whale sharks.  The rest of the time we haven’t a clue where he goes.”

The whale sharks that gather off Ningaloo are mostly young males and researchers are keen to find out where the females gather, where the whale sharks breed and the main places they seek food so as to protect the species.

Early in 2007 Brad is heading for Christmas Island, Thailand, the Seychelles and Mozambique to train local marine managers and tourism operators how to monitor and conserve the whale sharks that frequent their seas.  And then back to Ningaloo between April-June to lead teams of Earthwatch volunteers.  He will teach volunteers to collect and process sighting data, identification photographs and biological field samples to enable an improved understanding of whale shark movements, behaviours and numbers in the wild.

Over the next two years his worldwide odyssey will take in places as far apart as Honduras and Kenya, the Maldives, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, Belize, India, Mexico, Indonesia and the Galapagos.

“People working in marine resorts in all these places are keen to know more about the magnificent whale sharks and to help conserve them. The Ecocean photo-id library allows anyone who can swim and use a camera to play a part in conserving one of the world’s most magnificent animals.”

Individuals can also “adopt a whale shark” like Stumpy and receive updates whenever it is spotted somewhere else in the world.

The project has been made possible through funds provided by the Rolex Awards for Enterprise. These aim to encourage a spirit of enterprise in visionary individuals around the globe by providing the financial support and recognition they need to implement innovative, working projects that advance human knowledge and well-being. They are awarded in five areas:
• science & medicine
• technology & innovation
• exploration & discovery
• the environment
• cultural heritage

Applications for the 2008 awards are now open. Australians are encouraged to apply by completing the form on the website:
www.rolexawards.com
Applications close on May 31, 2007.