Strengthen Education for Whale Sharks Conservation

HI!

The past months have been intense and inspiring. Your support has helped us make significant progress in protecting whale sharks and their habitats, working with scientists, students, and people in communities.

During this time, we were fortunate to meet four incredible students, just 10 years old: Mateo, Javier, Fernando, and Rodrigo. These young guardians of the ocean chose the whale shark as the focus of their school project to promote the care of marine wildlife.

We shared a very active and enriching session with them, during which we chatted, answered questions, and shared materials, photos, and videos to strengthen their research. As part of their project, the kids designed a fundraising campaign, the proceeds of which were donated to our Whale Shark Sustainable Management Program. Thanks to their efforts, we were able to acquire a plankton collection net, essential for whale shark food's monitoring in the Mexican Caribbean. Their enthusiasm filled us with hope!

Furthermore, for the fourth consecutive year, we participated in workshops to strengthen the knowledge and skills of guides and captains who work with whale sharks. Our goal is to continue training a new generation of tour operators committed to conservation and responsible tourism. Furthermore, thanks to the participation of Cindy, a local guide who carried on in citizen science activities, we were able to record the location and count of whale sharks for 75 days, which will allow us to evaluate changes in their abundance in recent years.

Throughout the season, we also shared our learnings with tour operators in the region, recognizing the invaluable experience of those who pioneered whale shark tourism and established the first rules to ensure their protection.

Between May and September, three young researchers—two studying a master's degree and one studying a bachelor's degree—joined our activities, which will serve as a basis for developing their research project leading to their academic degree. Thanks to their dedication, Ana, Andrea and Edwin were able to present their progress at the Latin American Congress of Sharks and Rays, contributing new knowledge about this species and sustainable tourism in the Mexican Caribbean.

We close the season with good news: we recorded a slight increase in the number of whale sharks observed. We're still far from historic numbers, but this upswing motivates us to continue working even harder. In our next report, we'll share the results of our analysis of this data.

Thank you for being part of this effort. Every contribution, every donation, and every message of support encourages us to continue protecting whale sharks and the communities that share their habitat.