WHALE SHARK DIVING: THE FACTS
Did you know:
> The Whale Shark is the world’s biggest fish
> The markings behind its gills are individually specific
> Whales filter feed on plankton but also takes fish solid
> They are a migratory species frequenting tropical reefs circumglobally
> They are inquisitive and harmless and do not jump
> Their length is 12m - unconfirmed reports exist of 18m
> The Whale Shark was named by Dr. Andrew Smith, an army surgeon, who inspected the body of a Whale Shark that was harpooned in Table Bay, South Africa, in April 1928. That specimen was 4.5m (15 feet) long and its skin was sent to the Paris Museum
> Whale Sharks cruise at only 2 - 3 knots filtering thousands of tons of food- containing water every hour. Nothing is known about the longevity of the Whale Shark nor about its seasonal movements. The Natal Sharks Board is about to embark on a project to check out the seasonality of Whale Sharks in South African waters
> The Whale Shark is omniviparous. Up to 16 eggs have been found inside one female.
> The Whale Shark is 45cm (18 inches) at birth.
> Its jaws are lined with 300 rows of tiny teeth, approximately 2mm (half an inch) big.
> This species is actively hunted in the Western Pacific Ocean.

DIVE AREAS AND PLAN
Kwa-Zulu Natal/Southern Mozambique:
When diving with Whale Sharks off the coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal and Southern Mozambique (Sodwana Bay and Ponta do Oroa), we enlist the use of a microlight aircraft that spots the animals and radios the co-ordinates to the dive boats. We then launch the boats and drop the divers in the on-coming course of the approaching Whale Shark and wait for the Whale Shark to approach the divers who are on snorkel. Please note that we do not use scuba as this tends to frighten the Whale Sharks away.
Mozambique:
This species is actively hunted in the Western Pacific Ocean.In Mozambique, at Guinjata Bay, we restrict the number of divers to 8 and charter a deep-sea fishing boat. We spend the whole day “cruising” the backline in search of these gentle giants. Once we have located them, we again drop the divers who are on snorkel in front of the on-coming animals and wait for them to approach the divers.

Photos courtesy Andrew Woodburn
www.woodburnphoto.co.za