How to Prepare for a Whale Shark Sighting
The excursions to see the whale shark are mostly snorkeling, while diving you can happen to see it but it is not always easy. Let's go on an adventure!
Helpful tips...
Before leaving, remember: sunscreen, water and a hat! Snorkeling equipment with a mask, fins, snorkel and a life jacket is also essential if we don't feel too safe in deep water.
Unfortunately, the sea is not always calm, so for those who suffer from seasickness, we recommend getting ginger root and chewing small pieces during the trip! It helps you not to feel sick and, unlike medicine, it keeps you alert and awake!!!
The search
During the search, you could stay on the boat for a while before diving, so it is essential to arm yourself with patience, optimism, and observation skills. We can all spot a dark spot on the surface or even a fin that peeks out from the surface!!! Let's try!!!
Once spotted, we follow the procedures for snorkeling.
Snorkeling
Wear a thermal or cotton t-shirt, or a wetsuit: not so much to protect yourself from the cold but from the sun! It is best to always also put on sunscreen SPF 50 or 30 at least half an hour before entering the water to give it time to absorb.
FOLLOW CAREFULLY WHAT IS EXPLAINED BY THE GUIDES, unauthorized behavior could scare the whale shark away and leave us high and dry!
Remember to spit in your mask! We know it's not very elegant but if we want to see the whale shark, it's essential not to have a fogged mask! Don't worry, once you've spat you can also rinse it before entering the water!
A camera or video camera might come in handy to capture the world’s largest fish.
(If you want to know more about snorkeling, click here!)
Where we look for the whale shark
The whale shark feeds on plankton and is a migrant that travels considerable distances in search of food.
In Madagascar it passes through between September and December with a concentration of about 300 specimens! But… First of all, to spot the whale shark we must:
Intercepting feeding frenzies: groups of surface plankton that attract various predators, mostly small tuna that jump like crazy out of the water (bonito) and sea birds (easily spotted even from afar). In most cases, among this confusion of animals, there is also the whale shark that claims its share.
It is easy to spot thanks to its imposing size and dark coloration dotted with white dots. Always staying on the surface, the upper lobe of its long tail could emerge from the water.
In the Maldives, on the other hand, depending on the season, it can be found either in the western atolls (November-May) or in the eastern ones (June-October). Here feeding is rare, therefore:
You have to be in the right place at the right time!
The whale shark swims calmly in the surface waters in the outer part of the atolls, with the boat you slowly travel along this stretch of sea sharpening your eyesight in the hope of seeing it!
Whatever the spotting method, snorkeling is not continuous because the whale shark will not stay still in one spot; therefore the boat will often move to intercept it and it will be possible to do more dives during a single sighting.
It can be spotted both during the day and at night:
During the day:
We will look for it in shallow waters (within 30 m) and the surface. This is where plankton accumulates in large quantities attracted by sunlight. It will be easy to see them with their mouths open while they swim slowly or completely vertically, while they filter the food with their large gills.
The largest whale sharks, however, often remain deeper and only the most expert divers are allowed to meet them, helped by a bit of luck!
During the night:
How is it possible? This fantastic activity is mainly carried out by liveaboard diving boats that place a large light at the stern of the boat that illuminates the adjacent body of water. The illuminated part of the sea quickly attracts tiny platonic organisms that, accumulating in large quantities, attract the whale shark! You have to be a little patient though!
This extraordinary experience allows EVERYONE to observe it very closely both in the water and from the boat.
How we approach the whale shark
The whale shark is a truly shy loner, does not like company very much and is easily frightened.
With him we must be delicate and sensitive, just like his nature.
We enter the water without making any majestic dives because if it is very close to the boat we risk jumping on it or scaring it away with the noise we make.
In the water we can swim alongside it, if we want (and if it is swimming calmly) but NEVER in front of it. The whale shark has two small lateral eyes that do not allow it to see well in front and in the immediate vicinity, so it would risk colliding with us and getting scared, running away at full speed!
When he is upright and eating plankton on the surface we can approach him keeping at least 5 m away but never go above him. He would not be happy if we were to stand between him and his snack!
NEVER EVER TOUCH IT: this is the fundamental rule that cannot be compromised. You cannot touch it because we would risk removing the protective patina produced by its skin and therefore allow parasites such as algae, fungi and bacteria to attack it and bring it diseases. It is an animal at risk of extinction, if we create further problems we condemn it to certain death. So let's keep our desire for cuddles in check!
NEVER EVER GET DRAGGED BY ITS FINS: besides being dangerous because it has a strength that we could never counteract, it is also disrespectful both towards this extraordinary creature and towards our hiking companions because it will surely run away in fear and we will no longer be able to admire it.
Be wary of excursion centers that suggest touching it and so on. It is just a job for profit that does not take into account the welfare of the animals.
Only those who love animals will always protect them and understand the importance of defending and respecting them… A Friendly Fins will be the bearer of these values and the satisfaction of seeing whale sharks happy in nature will be fulfilling forever!
What Can a Friendly Fins Do for a Whale Shark?
Photoidentification
Every whale shark has a particular characteristic that differentiates it from all the others: the dots that are found between the gill arches, in addition to any scratches, bites and scars.
We can participate in research on the knowledge of this fabulous animal.
Different Whale Shark Programs collect photographs and testimonies of anyone who has been in contact with a whale shark and wants to participate in its protection and conservation. Everyone's contribution can be valuable in tracking migrations, habits and the quantity of specimens present in a certain area year after year.
Another example of Citizen science that we Friendly Fins can participate in!
Some useful addresses…
Once you submit the photo, the shark will be identified, the database will be updated and we will receive the response from the experts with the identification card!
This way we will know the name of our whale shark and help its conservation!
By the way, this is Noomara!
Anyone who comes into contact with the whale shark for the first time will feel a pang in their heart when they see it approaching so majestically and elegantly. It will forever leave its memory well imprinted in our minds, making us enter another extraordinary dimension!