Whale shark FAQ's
Where are whale sharks found?
Whale sharks are found throughout the world in tropical and warm-temperate seas.
Where and when, in the Indian Ocean, are the greatest concentrations of whale sharks?
Whale sharks mass at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, in March and April when the coral spawn. Large congregations of the sharks occur in the Seychelles in August and November. Many whale sharks are seen off East Africa, but the greatest concentration of the sharks appears to occur off Mozambique and the northern coast of South Africa from October through March. On January 15, 1994, a total of 95 whale sharks were observed between Durban and Umtentweni, South Africa, a distance of 68.3 miles [110 km], during an aerial survey conducted by the Shark Research Institute. However, whale sharks are rare; by 1986 there had only been 320 recorded sightings in all of Western scientific literature.
Do whale sharks mass in the Pacific Ocean as well?
Large numbers of whale sharks have been seen off Mexico from Cabo San Lucas to Acapulco from March to August, and there are frequent sightings of the sharks off Australia's Queensland coast in November and early December.
What is shark "tagging"?
Although some species of sharks thrive in captivity, most do not. Another way we can learn more about sharks is by tagging them in the wild. When a shark is "tagged" by the traditional method it is caught and (if possible) measured, a tag is inserted on or below its first dorsal fin, and then the shark is set free. When the same shark is recaptured and remeasured scientists can see how much it has grown. Tagging also provides clues about a species' life-span. A school shark, thought to be 20 years old when it was tagged, was recaptured 33 years later, which indicates the species may live at least 53 years. Tagging may also indicate the range of a species: a blue shark tagged off New York was recaptured 14 months later off the coast of Brazil, and another was recaptured six years later off Liberia, West Africa.
Does the Shark Research Institute use the "traditional method" to tag whale sharks?
No, our tags are inserted in free-swimming whale sharks by divers, and our study relies on sport divers to report sightings of tagged sharks.
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