Whale Sharks

The largest fish in the world received it protection in the 2002 CITIES convention in Santiago de Chile. The Philippines and India proposed for the whale shark to be placed in Appendix II, restricting world trade on whale shark meat. The Donsol phenomenon was the flagship story illustrating how important it is to have the animal alive than dead. In November 2002, the whale shark, basking shark and the seahorse were the first 3 fish species ever to make it to CITIES Appendix II. To find more Whale Shark pictures, please click here.