It's that time of year again. The months of March, April and May mean one thing
to researchers and divers in Placencia: Whale sharks. These sea creatures appear
like clockwork during the spring months. Just wait for the full moon and several
days afterwards these huge giants will start to appear in the area known as
Gladden Split. What draws the largest fish in the ocean to this particular spot?
Gladden Split is known by many fishermen from Hopkins, Seine Bight, and Monkey
River for the large aggregations of grouper and snapper that gather at this
point on the Barrier Reef to spawn with the full moon each month. In the spring,
thousands of Dog and Cubera snapper come together to reproduce and it's the
large amounts of released gametes that provide a plentiful source of protein
rich food for the Whale sharks. Whale sharks can obtain lengths of up to fifty
feet and weigh as much as 18 metric tons and yet pose no real danger to the
large numbers of divers that travel to these feeding sites in the hopes of
catching a glimpse of the elusive giants. Whale sharks feed by filtering large
amounts of sea water over their large gill rakers and extracting planktonic
organisms, small bait fish, thimble jellies or tiny squid.
Whale sharks are found in tropical waters worldwide and
predictable feeding aggregations have been identified near the Philippines,
Australia, Maldives, Baja/Mexico, South Africa, Honduras and Belize. Recently,
Green Reef staff has had the opportunity to work with researchers from The
University of York and The Nature Conservancy on Whale shark research at the
Gladden Split aggregation site. Researchers here are conducting monthly
underwater surveys and tagging Whale sharks in an effort to learn more about
this species. This data collected about the population will hopefully then be
transformed into useful and applicable information that will help manage and
conserve these elusive creatures. Recently several San Pedro divers have
reported seeing Whale sharks off of Ambergris Caye. You can help in this
research by keeping a look-out for Whale sharks and if you see one, please take
a moment to record the following: 1) time, date and location of sighting; 2)
number of sharks and approximate size; 3) any distinguishing features or scars;
4) tag type, number and placement; 5) Tour Operator's name and 6) your contact
information. Please send this information to: Belize/UK Initiative, Box 170,
Punta Gorda, Toledo District, Belize. As
always, Green Reef is interested in hearing from the residents and visitors of
San Pedro. Feel free to contact Green Reef at 026-3254, extension 243 or E-mail
us at greenreef @smu.edu.bz.
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