Huang Ming-ho (黃明和), Director of the Council of Agriculture's Fisheries Regulation Division, says the complete ban had been a target for years and that neither Ralph's death nor advice from Georgia had anything to do with it. This opinion was seconded by Liu Kwang-ming (劉光明) a professor who specializes in shark research at the National Ocean University in Keelung, and a graduate student there.
Lin Tze-tong (林慈烔), who runs an air cargo service and helped transport the sharks, disagrees. "There was definitely a growing awareness that whale sharks needed to be protected," said Lin, who has also overseen the shipment of koalas and gorillas to the Taipei Zoo. "But when the government saw how much the Georgia Aquarium valued these fish, it made officials more serious about conservation." Ironically, he added, "the deaths of Ralph and Norton also aided conservation in Taiwan because they forced the government to investigate the issue and explain to Taiwan's media what they were doing to protect whale sharks."
The fisheries division postponed the transfer of the final two whale sharks until the Georgia Aquarium adequately explained Ralph's death and gave a more thorough explanation of how the sharks would be cared for and of the scientific value of keeping them in captivity.
Huang said the department ultimately approved the transfer of the final two whale sharks, Taroko and Yushan, because the Georgia Aquarium was conducting research that could not be done in the field, running a top-notch educational program, and had demonstrated that it could take better care of the giant fish than Taiwan's National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Hengchun (恆春), near Kaohsiung, where the whale shark population has fallen from three to one after one animal died and the other fell ill and was released.
Even though Norton died soon after Yushan and Taroko arrived, the transfer of the Taiwanese whale sharks to the Georgia Aquarium seems to have improved Taiwan's image abroad, US conservationists say. "The fact that this trade was going on and there was hunting going on prior to the ban was a negative thing," Rose said. "When the ban was put into place, it got pretty good coverage."
"We applaud Taiwan for its leadership in conservation," Swanagan said. "I think our affiliation has helped people understand the incredible commitment Taiwan has to environmental stewardship."
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