More Whale Shark Facts!

By request, some more information about WHALE SHARKS!  These creatures tend to stay in warmer waters, around the equator, and although they can be seen close to coastlines, they can dive to depths as deep as 2,000 feet.  However, they will only venture that deep in order to find food while cruising the open ocean.  Female whale sharks incubate their eggs inside their bodies, unlike most sea creatures that lay eggs in the coral or sand.  Essentially, because of this, whale sharks are considered to give birth to live young.  Although the whale shark is impregnated with hundreds of eggs, only a few actually become whale sharks – typically 12 per litter.  The research seems to suggest that hundreds of eggs are produced so that whale sharks that actually hatch have immediate food.  The average size of a newborn whale shark is approximately 24” in length.  

Juvenile Whale Shark

Come dive with us...and maybe some whale sharks!

Whale Shark

The infamous WHALE SHARK is the largest fish in the world, and is on most divers’ bucket lists of “must sees”, growing on average 49-60’, living an estimated 100 years or more.  They’re typically docile and pose no threat to divers and are unmistakable in the water with their size, dark backs and patterned light spots and stripes.  Their large cavern-like mouth stretching the width of their bodies is used to scoop up plankton, squid and small pelagic fish.  Around the Hawaiian Islands, these gentle giants are typically seen on leeward sides of islands and typically swim near the surface, often times relatively close to shore.  This species is now considered threatened due to commercial fishing in some parts of the world.  Much like humpback whales, the whale shark can be identified by their unique pattern of stripes and spots.  The program used to help identify these sharks based on photos taken uses the same algorithm used on the Hubble Space Telescope to identify star patterns.  As of recently, there were over 1,000 whale sharks identified and catalogued in the world.  Schedule a dive with www.honuhawaiiandiving.com in hopes of seeing this beautiful creature and crossing it off your bucket list! #scuba #diving #scubadiving #honuhawaiiandiving #oahu #hawaii #itsahonuworld #whaleshark #whale #shark #gentlegiant