Whale Shark Spotted - 4th March 2010

Spirit of Freedom welcomed aboard a great group of divers from Any Water Dive Shop the United States for a fantasic 7 day Coral Sea diving adventure last week.  The group co-ordinators, Ginny and Frank Barry were rewarded for their excellent group organisation by an awesome Whale Shark encounter at 'Around the Bend' dive site on Osprey Reef.  Preferring warmer, tropical waters, Whale Sharks are not commonly found in the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea region and rather, are known to migrate every spring to the continental shelf of the central west coast of Australia. The coral spawning of the area's Ningaloo Reef provides the whale shark with an abundant supply of plankton.

As the largest fish in the sea, reaching lengths of 12 meters (40 feet) or more (size is relative to a bus!), whale sharks have a massive menu from which to choose. Fortunately for most sea-dwellers—and us!—their favorite meal is plankton. They scoop these tiny plants and animals up, along with any small fish that happen to be around, with their colossal gaping mouths while swimming close to the water's surface.

Irrespective of their size, Whale Sharks are a docile 'Gentle Giant' of a fish and are unfortunately listed as a vunerable/threatened species.

Image courtesy of Frank Barry - Any Water Dive Shop

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