Since the 1998
Keta has been contributed to independent
shark research
and education.
Keta continues
to support many research efforts working as a collective
publishing data on worldwide shark encounters, behavior
observations and photographic collections.
The Tuck
and Roll
is a collective of biologist, environmental groups, independent
researchers, educators and filmmakers working along side to help
bridge the gaps in shark and marine research.
If you are
interested in contributing
email us here with questions or
comments.
Myth or Legend?
Tuck and Roll
is the procedure developed by the Whale Shark Hunters of the
Philippines to escape from the belly of a giant whale shark.To kill a whale
shark, the hunters would dive with a large hand held harpoon
stabbing 50-foot whale sharks between their eyes.
A second free
diver would enter the water and cut a large hole in the upper
lip of the shark. Threading a thick rope through the sharks
mouth and towing the shark to shallow water.
The shark was
kept alive for freshness. An illegal exporter and distributor of
shark fins and rare whale shark meat then determined the price
for the catch.
If the free
divers had trouble harpooning the shark or cutting the hole for
the towrope; they risked being ingested by the huge sharks.
To escape the
mouth or avoid being swallowed, the whale shark hunters
developed the “tuck and roll” technique which allowed them to be
ejected without being decapitated or losing a limb.
The Whale Shark
Hunters of the Philippines no longer kill whale sharks for their
fins.
Some former
hunters are now part of the World Wildlife Foundation. They
assist in tagging and photo ID projects that help with research
efforts to understand the migration of whale sharks migrating
through the
Bohol Sea.
Many of the
photos on this site are from the days when the hunters still
killed whale sharks. They are reminders that some countries
still mine their whale sharks.
|