Whale shark FAQ's
Have whale sharks ever killed anyone?
No. In fact, divers often refer to whale sharks as the "gentle giants."
Have whale sharks ever been exhibited in an aquarium?
Yes, Okinawa Expo Aquarium and the Ring of Fire Aquarium in Osaka, Japan, have exhibited small
whale sharks.
Can't scientists learn enough about sharks by keeping them in an aquarium?
It would be helpful to shark scientists if every kind of shark could be studied in captivity,
but most cannot be kept alive in existing aquariums. Even when a shark can live in an artificial
habitat scientists learn little about the shark's distribution, migration, schooling and foraging
behavior in the open sea.
Are whale sharks hunted anywhere in the world?
Whale sharks have few natural predators and they are not actively fished by any Western nation,
although their fins are highly valued in the Eastern Market.
Do whale sharks have any monetary value?
Whale sharks have great value to the tourist industry; and they have enormous potential
value to the economies of third world and developing countries that have coastlines on tropical or
subtropical seas. According to DEMA (Dive Equipment Marketing Association) American sport divers
spend $1.4 billion dollars annually on dive travel, and diving with sharks (all species) has become
big business. As early as 1994, for example, some 21,000 sport divers participated in staged
"shark dives" in the Bahamas alone. For many, the ultimate underwater experience is meeting
a whale shark; thousands of sport divers journey each year to Ningaloo Reef (and pay more than
$3,000 apiece, excluding air fare) for the opportunity to dive with a whale shark.
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