Divers get rare treat when huge whale sharks join them off Florida, stunning videos show
A group of divers had the experience of a lifetime when they were joined by the ocean’s largest fish as they explored a Florida wreck.
Then, it happened again.
Diver’s Den, a SCUBA certification and charter company based in Panama City Beach, was with a group of divers on the wreck of the Red Sea on July 22 in the Gulf of Mexico when an enormous shadow in the water started getting closer.
As the divers explored the 120-foot wreck a few miles off the coast, they were joined by a whale shark, at least 30 feet long.
“It never gets tiring seeing them. How majestic they are in the water. I get a rush when we have new divers and they see this!” Carlos Orozco, a divemaster with Diver’s Den, told McClatchy News.
The dive team was joined by a group of divers completing their check out dive, the last dive before they earned their open water diving certification.
“The new (open water) divers will never forget that day, everything will be downhill for them,” Orozco said.
Just when the divers thought it couldn’t get better, another whale shark joined them on the wreck on July 24.
“We have seen them in our area, but very rarely,” Orozco said. “Last time I personally saw one was eight years ago.”
Now, they’ve seen multiple whale sharks in one week.
Orozco said it’s possible to tell the differences between whale sharks, and he’s sure the group has seen more than one.
He said the creatures were “just moving through,” and they saw whale sharks again on July 26 and July 27.
“It could be that there’s some upwelling coming in and bringing in the cooler water and nutrients and allowing for a lot of food right now in the region for them to feed on,” NOAA biologist Eric Hoffmayer told WMBB.
Hoffmayer told the outlet the influx in whale shark sightings is a new trend compared to recent years.
Whale sharks were spotted 5 miles off the coast of Destin by a group of boaters on July 16, McClatchy News reported.
Whale sharks, which can reach 46 feet and weigh up to 24,000 pounds, move through the Gulf of Mexico as part of a migration during summer and fall months, NOAA reports.
However, part of the elusive animal’s life remains a mystery as scientists are unclear where the whale sharks go after feasting on the plankton and fish egg bounty in the gulf, NOAA reports.
Researchers with the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory are completing a sighting survey, and anyone who sees a whale shark is encouraged to complete an online survey so they can track them.
“Most won’t ever have this experience,” Orozco said.
Panama City Beach is in Florida’s Panhandle, about 270 miles west of Jacksonville.
This story was originally published July 27, 2023 at 12:26 PM with the headline "Divers get rare treat when huge whale sharks join them off Florida, stunning videos show."
