Dennis, 31 August 2008
Maledives Diva Maldives

Whale shark Galore

Whale shark galore,

What a treat this month. It is not suppose to be whale shark season and we are having a whale shark fest. We started just for fun with a look on the outside reef. And yes, day one they were there. Now we are 10 days further and we still find them. Peak was the 6 whale sharks in front of Vilamendhoo and now just two days ago 4 whale sharks in front of our own island. We saw at least 10 different ones and several locals. A new one was the small baby of only a small 3 meters. So cute and sweet. The biggest one is our own local M-006. According to our database this one is been here for the last 5 years. The database on www.ecocean.org is where you can find all worldwide sightings. The Maldives is just started to use it. A slow start but we are catching up.

The biggest and maybe most weird part about the whale sharks around here is that they are all juveniles. Between the 3 till about 8 meters long. It is not likely to see them any bigger then that here. So that would mean that they grow up here. But after that nothing is known about them. Where do they go from here? How do they get here? What is the next step. Everyone thinks they are highly migratory. But then again it is not been proved yet. How much do we know about these giants?

For one we know that they can grow up to 15 meters. Yet the biggest one ever truly measured was only 13 meters. Still the biggest fish in the sea. Only 10 years ago they discovered that the whale shark gives birth to around 300 baby whale sharks. But how many might survive? No one knows. How long does it take to grow up? They expect that it should take 30 years to reach maturity. 30 years before they can reproduce. This is why we are having less and less whale sharks.

Last know discovered fact is that whale sharks act like fighter pilots underwater. Diving far down and straight up again. They are known to feed at night on plankton and then spend the day relaxing and checking out the coastline.

The biggest problem now for us here is how to deal with these creatures. We need more rules of conduct here. The islands around here are acting great to all information we hand out. They are working now with us in our not touching and safe approach policies. Yet the world famous Safari boats of the Maldives are doing a lot wrong for this area. The boats with heavy engines and screws come straight over the reef instead of keeping a safe distance. There are now 4 local whale sharks we know of that bear the scars of boat collisions. The next step would be creating a safe zone and declaring a marine park on the outside reefs of the South Ari Atoll just to keep the boats at least 400 meters of the reef. Just the other day a boat passed over my head. This in only 8 meters of water. We all were hugging the bottom and try not to get deaf by the noise. Maybe the safari boats are turning the diving in the Maldives into cowboy diving. Lets hope not.

I hope everyone world wide would come here and show their concern but mostly to admire the beauty of these creatures. How often can we see gentle giants fly by your heads? Swimming with a fish that is much bigger then a mini bus makes your heart beat faster. And then you fall in love.

I fell in love and am still in love.

I love whale shark. There it is.

Now 1 more week and then again on Holiday.... Japan here we come again....

Dennis