ABSTRACT
Whale sharks are now one of the best-studied shark species. Despite a recent, dramatic, and ongoing increase in research effort since the late 1990s, there are still some major areas of whale shark biology and ecology that remain unknown, unclear, or understudied, which doesn’t say much for our understanding of the other 450-odd species of sharks. This chapter considers the conclusions of the other chapters of this book to generate a list of the most important unanswered questions about this species, laying out a roadmap for research directions in the next 10–20 years. Beyond their interest to the scientific community, answers to these questions would provide the foundations for a true global approach to the conservation of this endangered and extraordinary species.
