Welcome to Djibouti!

Every year, Save Our Seas Supported Scientist David Rowat of the Marine Conservation Society of the Seychelles, organizes a three week trip to the Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti, a location with high seasonal numbers of juvenile and subadult whale sharks.

In the field, the trip is guided by project leaders Laura and Gareth Jeffreys. This year, Save Our Seas CEO and underwater photographer Peter Verhoog had the privilege of joining them.

It was an exciting trip, with large numbers of whale sharks: 391 in the first week, 319 in the second week and 370 in the third week. The research team also fishes for plankton, takes ID pictures and skin samples and tags a number of sharks. Since 2010, the sharks are measured using laser photo-grammetry.

A fascinating project!

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