Two whale sharks at Japan aquarium die due to earthquake related equipment failures

Two whale sharks at Notojima Aquarium in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan died in successive days after equipment failures led to deterioration of their water tank environment. The Aquarium noted that water quality in its tank deteriorated due to damage caused by the enormous earthquake on New Year’s Day 2024.

Whale sharks are the most-watched shark in the world, with tourism worth an estimated US$1.9 billion worldwide, attracting over 25.5 million people annually at 46 sites in 23 countries. The largest collection of sites is in Asia.

The Notojima Aquarium held two whale sharks - male shark Hachibe, measuring 4.6 meters in length, who was confirmed dead on 9th January and 4.9-meter-long female Haku who died on 10th January.

Hachibe and his female partner, Haku, were brought to Notojima Aquarium in September 2022.

They had been kept in the 1,600-ton tank, one of the largest installed at aquariums on the Sea of Japan coast.

Tragedy struck when their tank filtration system shut down after the New Year's Day magnitude-7.6 Noto Peninsula quake, causing the water to become cloudy and the environment to deteriorate. On the night of 1st January 2024, a few hours after the earthquake struck, aquarium staff noticed that the water level in Hachibe’s tank had dropped below half and measures were taken to add seawater.

While staff managed to get enough water into the tank on 6th January - the normal level of about 6.2 meters was achieved - the filtration and heating equipment stopped, and the water temperature dropped from the normal 25 degrees Celsius to about 17 C. The water became so turbid that Hachibe could no longer be visually confirmed by 7th January.

Around noon on 9th January, it was discovered that Hachibe had died, and around the evening of the following day, a keeper dived down to check and confirmed that Haku had sunk to the bottom and was dead.

An aquarium representative commented "they were the symbol of the aquarium. We are filled with regret."

The Notojima Aquarium is set out on several levels, with the biggest attraction being the huge fish tank visitors encounters upon entering the building. Along with whale sharks the Aquarium houses dolphins, hammerheads, other sharks, and large fish of all varieties.

Following the deaths of two whale sharks in 2007 at the Georgia Aquarium - a public aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, United States -  many animal rights activists harshly criticised the Georgia Aquarium for keeping these animals captive in the first place. 

In 2021, Jackie Ziegler and Philip Dearden released their book ‘Whale Sharks’ which included a chapter on whale sharks in captivity and associated tourism

The chapter discusses the role of whale shark tourism within the context of incentive-based conservation. Tourist opportunities range from captive aquariums and seapen tourism to non-captive provisioned activities and wild encounters. Whale shark tourism can be an important means to protect whale sharks by providing economic incentives to local communities. However, research suggests that the activity can also lead to negative impacts on individual sharks and overall fitness.

Ziegler and Dearden note “effective management is critical in order to minimise impacts, incorporate community perspectives, build conservation awareness, and ensure a satisfactory tourist viewing experience in line with expectations for a genuine ecotourism activity. Although codes of conduct exist for most sites, these need to be reviewed to meet international standards and assistance provided to ensure that they are implemented and enforced.”

When Resorts World Sentosa announced in 2006 that a whale shark would be procured and displayed, The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) joined forces with Nature Society (Singapore) and Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) to keep it from happening.

While the ever popular argument that this was to be done in the name of education and conservation was raised, SPCA’s collective efforts dispelled this ‘myth’.

Getting the word out quickly and succinctly was their first line of defence – releasing press statements and letters to the major news outlets around Singapore in August 2008, coinciding with International whale shark Day.

The goal was three-pronged; to alert the public that this was on the horizon, to inform about the negative impact that the removal of these animals has on the environment and to warn that these creatures do not do well in tanks.

Fortunately, Singaporean groups were not the only ones fighting for this majestic creature and in March 2009, international organisations Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) joined with local The Green Volunteers, lovesharks.sg, ACRES, Cicada Tree Eco-Place and SPCA to expand the lobbying efforts.

A petition against the plan to import whale sharks, set up by lovesharks.sg, resulted in over 11,000 signatures.

Resorts World Sentosa announced in November 2009 that it was scrapping plans for the whale shark exhibition, citing the difficulty in caring for these animals.

This decision was met with a resounding sigh of collective relief.