Whale Sharks

(Dive Travel Business - March 1, 2011) -- Mexico’s Isla Mujeres Department of Tourism announced the Fourth Annual Whale Shark Festival. The Festival will be held July 15 to 17, 2011, in Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The event offers an opportunity to participate in ecotourism adventures such as swimming with whale sharks, the largest fish in the ocean and an endangered species; traditional dancing performed by local troupes; exploring ancient Mayan ruins and much more. A portion of the festival proceeds will be donated to several environmental not-for-profit organizations. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - August 11, 2010) -- International Whale Shark Day is August 30, 2010. The northern tip of the Yucatan is known for it's annual whale shark migration near Isla Holbox or Holbox Island.The migration starts mid-June until September where aggregations of up to 400 giant fish have been observed

The congregation of so many animals is unusual. Holbox Island is unique in that it is located where the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico join. There are upwellings of nutrient rich water that feed the food chain that contains everything from the tiniest plankton to schools of fish, sea birds, flamingos and ibis and of course, the giant yet vulnerable whale shark. It is truly a special place.

Holbox Island is only the second instance where marine scientists have discovered whale sharks are feeding on not just plankton but also fish eggs that are suspended in the upwellings. Marine scientists from a variety of organizations have been working with Mexican scientists for more than seven years on studying, tagging and tracking the world's largest fish that can grow to 10 metres in length. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - July 23, 2010) -- Anyone who saw a "Sharks of the World" poster as a youngster surely felt the mystique of the whale shark, largest shark in the world and biggest fish in the sea. Lurking behind the other shark species — bigger, even, than the mighty great white — the enormous size and peculiar spots of the whale shark stood out. Very definitely the whale shark was coolest of all sharks.

Whale sharks grow up to 40 feet but have very small teeth and aren't predatory. That means they won't try to eat you. Gentle giants, they gather each fall at Bahia de Los Angeles — almost halfway down the Baja Peninsula on the Sea of Cortez — to filter-feed on microscopic organisms called plankton.

The sharks swim slowly near the surface, keeping their large mouths open to gorge on the clouds of plankton that color the water jade that time of year. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - April 22, 2010) -- As we celebrate Earth Day, there's a small dive resort located on the tiny island of Utila, in the Bay Islands of Honduras that has vowed to make Earth Day every day.  Listen up!

Utopia Dive Village, a "remote adventure" dive, fishing and spa resort, is the only resort on Utila that has qualified for eco status through the Honduran Ministry of Environment that acknowledges the hotel and site were developed with strict guidelines to respect the surrounding environment.  read more »