In Photos: Feeding Ground for Whale Sharks

They also took photographs of the natural markings on each whale shark to identify and track individuals over 10 years. Every whale shark has a unique spot pattern, similar to a human fingerprint. The team recorded 4,197 encounters with 1,240 individual whale sharks in three countries.

Photograph: Simon Pierce/Marine Megafauna Foundation and University of Southampton

Only two sharks moved between sites, both swimming around 2,000 km north from Mozambique to Tanzania. The findings indicate that there are limited movements between these feeding sites over months to years.

Photograph: Clare Prebble/Marine Megafauna Foundation and University of Southampton

The results have implications for the conservation of this endangered species. ‘The best data available suggests that more than half of the world’s whale sharks have been killed since the 1980s. Although the western Indian Ocean remains a global hotspot for the species, even the largest feeding areas only host a few hundred sharks. Our results show that we need to treat each site separately, and ensure good conservation management is in place, as the sharks may not re-populate if they’re impacted by people’s activities,’ Prebble added.

Photograph: Clare Prebble/Marine Megafauna Foundation and University of Southampton