Is swimming with whale sharks ethical ecotourism? What to know about the increasingly popular travel activity

Travel

It was 7:30 a.m., and between the brutal jet lag and a mild hangover, I was tempted to skip the whole whale shark excursion that everyone else in my sailing group couldn’t seem to stop talking about.Several minutes later, however, with snorkel gear on, I was slipping into the water in Saleh Bay near Sumbawa, one of Indonesia’s sleepier islands, and found myself immediately transported to another world.What on Earth were these magnificent creatures, with their soft, gaping mouths and mile-long tails?Known as gentle giants — each one can be up to 60 feet long and weigh 20 tons — whale sharks are the largest type of shark and also the largest living fish. Preferring warm tropical water, the endangered species is found in Australia, the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, and the Indo-Pacific Ocean.

Whale sharks are an endangered species and considered gentle giants.

By Anjas Premana / Celestia

Swimming with whale sharks is just one of the activities offered to guests of Celestia, a traditional phinisi yacht that first set sail last year, but it’s the reason many people venture out on these waters. I floated gently near the free-roaming animals, careful not to get too close to the swishing of their enormous tails.While I hadn’t initially understood the fuss, it took me just a second in their presence — three of the creatures swimming peacefully near my fins — to recognize their majesty.After my trip, curious about whale shark tourism and whether it can be done responsibly, I contacted Ian Campbell, a shark scientist and the associate director for policy and campaigns at PADI Aware Foundation, a non-profit that works to protect the world’s oceans. While he isn’t sure exactly when whale shark tourism became mainstream or evolved from “opportunistic to operational,” he says it’s been a popular activity for at least a decade.One of PADI Aware’s goals is to educate tour operators so swimming with whale sharks is done responsibly. For example, touching the creatures has “huge potential negative implications for the species,” Campbell says. “You’re potentially adding a stress factor onto an animal.” Now that swimming with whale sharks is popular, the risk of over-exploitation exists, he adds, so best practices are essential for conservation.To encourage responsible shark tourism, PADI Aware, in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund and the Manta Trust, developed a responsible shark and ray tourism guide. PADI Aware believes it is just as important to educate travellers as it is to teach local tour operators.Before you sign up with a tour operator, Campbell recommends paying attention to key details to gauge the company’s trustworthiness. For example, “if an operator is not able to easily tell you what they’re doing from a conservation perspective or to give you any information on the species itself, that would raise questions,” Campbell says. The operator should also be dispensing basic instructions on how to behave around the whale sharks.Local fishermen in Indonesia used to hunt whale sharks because they saw them as competition for other fish, Jennifer Tan, Celestia’s cruise director and a master diver with deep knowledge of the ocean’s inhabitants, told me. But once the people discovered whale sharks could be a part of the tourism sector, they stopped hunting — and started feeding.This fishermen’s practice falls in a bit of an ethical grey zone, for it’s changing the behaviour of the sharks, which are being lured by plankton to a specific spot. The wildlife is not kept in an enclosed area, however, and can swim freely.

Travellers sailing on Celestia’s phinisi yacht are offered the opportunity to go swimming with whale sharks.

By Anjas Premana / Celestia

As Celestia’s guests, we are warned not to touch, pet or corner the whale sharks, as well as not to take flash photos or feed them. Coexisting in the same water for a short period is permitted, but we’re reminded to respect the animals’ space.In fact, “responsible shark tourism can benefit shark conservation,” Campbell says, noting that PADI Aware recognizes the activity can provide sustainable income for local coastal communities. “What we have started to see more and more is dive operators and tourism operators clubbing together, approaching the government and starting to develop guidelines for species of their regions.”Travellers must play their part as well, by choosing responsible tour operators and abiding by the guidelines set by conservationists. Above all, it’s about giving the wildlife the respect they deserve. After all, we are just temporary visitors in their home.Stacey Lastoe travelled as a guest of Celestia, which did not review or approve this article.
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Grab a bargain at Sleaford Library book sale

Arts & Culture, Books

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565Visit Shots! nowBargain book sale at Sleaford Library from Saturday, November 9 until  November 23.Pick up a bargain ex-library book and help make room for new stock on the shelves. The book sale will be available during normal opening hours. Prices start from 10p for a fiction paperback. Other books on the sale will include non-fiction, junior and teenage fiction.Charlotte Harris, for GLL, said: ‘We’re constantly reviewing our stock to ensure it is up to date, in good condition and meets the needs of customers. “So help support your local library and bag some bargain books’Continue Reading

‘Maldives Finder 2025’ travel magazine launched at WTM

Travel

Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) has launched this year’s edition of its travel magazine released annually, ‘Maldives Finder 2025’.
The latest edition of the travel magazine was launched by Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal on the sidelines of World Travel Market fair in London.
The magazine is endorsed by both the Tourism Ministry and Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).
The magazine serves as a comprehensive guide for travelers visiting the Maldives, offering insights into the nation’s unique offerings including its rich culture and heritage, cuisine, and scenic landscapes.
It also features notable figures in the tourism industry, local talents and recommendations for travelers.
Speaking at the launching ceremony of the magazine, MATATO’s CEO Aminath Soozan cited the goal of the magazine as promoting Maldives’ tourism industry to a global audience and inspiring more visitors to come to the country.

Take-Two are selling Private Division and closing Roll7 and Intercept, because they’re in “the business of making great big hits”

Business News

Take-Two Interactive have sold their publishing label Private Division to an unnamed party, along with five of Private Division’s “live and unreleased titles”. The GTA 6 publisher have also finally confirmed that they have shut down OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome devs Roll7 together with Kerbal Space Program 2 creators Intercept Games, months after performing mass layoffs at both studios.
“[W]e recently made the strategic decision to sell our Private Division label to focus our resources on growing our core and mobile businesses for the long-term,” company president Karl Slatoff said in an investor call last night. “As part of this transaction, the buyer purchased our rights to substantially all of Private Division’s live and unreleased titles.” Take-Two are holding onto No Rest For The Wicked, the Soulsy early access ARPG from the makers of Ori And The Blind Forest.
“We are grateful for the contributions that the Private Division team has made to our company and are confident that they will continue to achieve success in their new home,” Slatoff added.
There’s a bit more on the reasoning here in this GamesIndustry.biz interview with Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick. The short version is that cool dystopian rollerskating games and sprawling engineer sandboxes do not make enough cash.
“We’re really best at these big AAA experiences,” he said. “We have the biggest intellectual properties in the interactive entertainment business, some of the biggest intellectual properties in the overall entertainment business and to make sequels to existing beloved franchises as well as to create new hit intellectual properties is our mission.
“The team of Private Division did a great job supporting independent developers and, almost to a one, every project they supported did well,” Zelnick went on. “However, the scale of those projects was, candidly, on the smaller side, and we’re in the business of making great big hits.”
Take-Two have had “strong second quarter results” for their fiscal year 2025, something Zelnick largely attributes in this week’s investor call to “the continued success of the Grand Theft Auto and Borderlands franchises” (Borderlands, you might recall, recently had a movie adaptation, which has “benefited” Borderlands game sales despite being a load of old rope). Zelnick anticipates “record” performance in 2026 and 2027, driven by the release of GTA 6, which Take-Two still have pegged for console launch in 2025 despite rumours it might slip to 2026.
Founded in 2017, Private Division was Take-Two’s attempt to build an audience for more economical and adventurous “triple-I” games that combine the gloss of a GTA with relatively eccentric mechanics or stories. Take-Two aren’t the only company to cut back on smaller experiments of late. Last month, Ubisoft confirmed that they had broken up the team responsible for the well-regarded Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown (there were no layoffs).
In the wake of stagnating growth brought on by over-ambitious expansion during the Covid lockdown years, the investor-facing mindset appears currently to be: if it’s not Assassin’s Creed or GTA-scale, what’s the point?

How old can humans get? Scientists uncover max limit of human life

Science and Health

A representational image shows an elderly couple walking together. — UnsplashAlthough rare, many people have crossed the age of 100, leaving a mark as some of the world’s oldest people. So, what is the maximum potential lifespan for humans?Recent research from the Netherlands reveals that women may have a maximum lifespan of 115.7 years, while for men, it’s slightly lower at 114.1 years — still impressively long.
According to Indy100, this conclusion was drawn by statisticians at Tilburg and Rotterdam’s Erasmus University, who studied data from 75,000 people who have died in the Netherlands in the last 30 years.One of the three scientists who conducted the research, Professor John Einmahl, is quoted by Medical Express as saying: “On average, people live longer, but the very oldest among us have not gotten older over the last thirty years. There is certainly some kind of a wall here. Of course, the average life expectancy has increased. Nevertheless, the maximum ceiling hasn’t changed.”Researchers involved in the study emphasised that their research was about lifespan rather than life expectancy, highlighting that lifespan refers to the maximum age an individual can reach with proper self-care.These findings correlate with a study carried out in America, where a similar lifespan bracket was discovered by researchers. They determined that a person’s maximum lifespan plateaus in their nineties and was unlikely to exceed 115.This data challenges the exceptional case of a French woman, Jeanne Louise Calment, who holds the world’s record for longevity as she lived for a staggering 122 years.Born in 1875, the world record holder became the oldest person to have ever lived and passed away in 1997.While it is unclear if Calment’s record will ever be topped by anyone, Einmahl aims to have his study published soon, which may reveal the key to a longer life.

What Trump means for tech

Technology

Good morning. As you can imagine, there’s an awful lot of chatter going ’round about what another Trump presidency means for business and tech. (Our cheat sheet on the areas to watch is below.)

I’ve been thinking about a lot of things in the wake of the election results. One of them is the voters who feel like current circumstances aren’t working for them. By almost every measure the U.S. economy is strong—but that’s not how it feels to a lot of folks right now, particularly in Pennsylvania, where I grew up.

Will the continued march of technology ease or exacerbate those feelings? Will the AI revolution lead to broader, rather than merely greater, prosperity? I can’t decide. Reply and share your thoughts; I’d love to hear them. —Andrew Nusca

Want to send thoughts or suggestions to Data Sheet? Drop a line here.What Trump means for techDonald Trump walks to the White House on May 14, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)Donald Trump’s return to the White House will probably touch every corner of tech.From AI and antitrust to chips and social media—not to mention cars, space, and crypto—Trump and his backers have policies to push, interests to serve, and grudges to pursue.A couple of outcomes are highly likely, such as the deregulation of crypto and the defenestration of controversial Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan, who is arguably Big Tech’s biggest foe. But the surest thing is that Trump will be as chaotic and unpredictable as ever.He might ignite a trade war with China, causing huge problems for TSMC and other Taiwanese chipmakers who keep the world ticking. Or he might use Taiwan as a bargaining chip in some potential deal with Beijing. Either would up-end the chip industry.Elon Musk may soon be in a position to favor xAI in his plans for a sweeping reorganization of the U.S. government. Those in Trump’s circle could encourage the president to sponsor a Manhattan Project-style project for bringing about the genesis of superhuman artificial general intelligence. And Trump’s likely avoidance of meaningful AI regulation would be a boon for misinformation and discriminatory uses of AI.Whatever happens, it’s certainly true that the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, who have recently gone out of their way to avoid enraging Trump, made at least the right strategic decision. —David MeyerCanada orders TikTok business shutdownCanada has ordered TikTok to dissolve its business in the country, though it didn’t go so far as to block access to the TikTok app by the almost six million residents who use it.The shutdown decision was made for national security reasons and was based in part “on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” said Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in a statement.Government officials in Ottawa have been reviewing TikTok’s business plans in Canada since last year. (TikTok, of course, is owned by China’s ByteDance.) The Great White North had already banned the TikTok app from government-issued devices.TikTok said it would challenge the order in court. In the meantime, the company is fast-approaching its January 19 deadline to sell its U.S. business to an approved buyer—again, for national security reasons—or face a ban. Some 170 million people in the U.S. use the app. —ANEU opens antitrust probe against CorningYou don’t often hear about antitrust proceedings against a 173-year-old glass company, but there’s a first time for everything.Corning—which developed bulb-shaped glass for Thomas Edison, manufactured displays for virtually every TV in the 1960s, and invented your mom’s Corelle dishes—found a new cash cow in the 21st century with its Gorilla Glass, installed on a smartphone near you.The stuff is so popular, in fact, that the company now faces antitrust scrutiny from the European Union over whether it abused its market power—and exclusive agreements with phone makers—to out-maneuver competition. “The agreements that Corning put in place with OEMs and finishers may have excluded rival glass producers from large segments of the market,” reads a European Commission statement, “thereby reducing customer choice, increasing prices, and stifling innovation to the detriment of consumers worldwide.”Corning said it would comply with the probe. If found in violation, Corning could be fined up to 10% of its annual global revenue. —ANFreshworks to lay off 13% of workforceThe Silicon Valley cloud software company Freshworks said Wednesday that it would lay off 660 people, or 13% of its workforce. It expects to complete its restructuring by Dec. 31.The news comes in the wake of rather strong quarterly earnings. Demand for its AI-driven services led the 14-year-old company to raise its annual revenue and profit forecasts—to as much as earnings of 39 cents on revenues of $716 million—driving its share price up by double digits, to about $15,  in after-market trading.“We’re proud of the operational efficiencies we’re creating while scaling our business,” CEO Dennis Woodside said during a conference call.Founded in Chennai, India, Freshworks is the company behind the IT service management platform Freshservice and customer service tool Freshdesk. It sells its software to companies including American Express, Databricks, Nucor, and Sony and competes with Salesforce and ServiceNow. —ANTake-Two earnings show gamers are willing to spend againIn the year ahead, the video game industry’s hopes are banking on two things: a successor to the Nintendo Switch and Grand Theft Auto VI.But a little confidence now doesn’t hurt, eh?On Wednesday Take-Two Interactive, the New York City gaming company behind the GTA franchise, beat Wall Street’s expectations for quarterly earnings ($1.47 billion) and profit, sending its shares up about 5% to $173.The company’s long-term outlook is, of course, bright. In addition to GTA VI, which is expected to rake in billions of dollars, Take-Two has Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country in the pipeline. Take-Two expects to generate up to $5.65 billion this fiscal year—in line with analyst estimates—and “sequential increases and record levels” in the GTA VI-filled years that follow, per CEO Strauss Zelnick. To quote one of the series’ characters: It’s called capitalism. —ANMore data—Chat.com is now controlled by OpenAI. Who said AI would kill the web?—Twice as many pro-crypto candidates vs. anti-crypto were elected to the U.S. House.—Arm dims its Q3 revenue outlook to about $945m. Sluggish chip demand to blame.—JPMorgan’s Onyx blockchain platform now called Kinexys. Marks a shift to real-world asset tokenization.—Australia weighs social media ban for kids under 16. Enforcement is the trick.Endstop triggeredThis is the web version of Data Sheet, a daily newsletter on the business of tech. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.