In Photos: Feeding Ground for Whale Sharks

The study stresses the need to protect these filter-feeding sharks at the areas where they come together in numbers, particularly where human pressures are also present. Whale sharks are an incidental catch in coastal gillnets, which are frequently used in Mozambique and Tanzania. The Arabian Gulf is a huge oil shipping area where vessel strikes pose a major threat to the sharks when they are feeding near the surface.

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

‘Whale sharks are fully capable of swimming across oceans, but it seems like the juveniles, at least, are choosing not to,’ said Dr Simon Pierce, principal scientist at the Marine Megafauna Foundation and a study co-author. “They like coming back to the same sites each year to take advantage of predictable feeding opportunities. Looking on the bright side, that emphasizes that local protection can have a major benefit for the recovery of this endangered species.’

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

Whale shark tourism is estimated to be worth more than $100m each year around the world.

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