Diving v. snorkeling with Whalesharks in Utila

[Joni]

Another question for those of you familiar with Utila.

I noticed that most dive ops mention snorkeling with dive sharks rather than diving with them. I assume this is to avoid scaring the whalesharks off while they're feeding at the surface so that the probability of "interacting" (from a distance of course) with them in the water is greater.

Anyone have more details on this?

We're going in late August/early September, so our chances of seeing one are probably slim anyway - but from what I've read there's lots to see UW in Utila. We're looking forward to it.

Thanks!

Joni
www.marinebio.org

 

[ScubaDoobaDo]

We were told that you don't dive with them because you tend to want to follow... and they go deep. If you get too caught up in the chase you may not watch your depth...
We were able to take our regular dives then when they were spotted you could slip into the water to spend some time with them snorkeling. Don't get sooo excited that you forget to put your snorkel & mask in place like I did the second time around..hehe

 

[AboutUtila]

It is more an issue of safety and practicality.

There are arguably 2 modes of encountering Whale Sharks in Utila;

(1) By coincident during a normal scuba dive.
If this happens, then great, just relax and enjoy the view (and remember to watch your gauges for air and depth) and don't deviate from your no-deco dive plan. (Also probably curse yourself for not having your camera with you).

(2) By searching for them.
Here's where accidents could happen.
Whale Sharks are very large fish. With a simple 'flick of their tail' they can move 5-20 metres in the water. They do not just sit inert in the water but are constantly cruising.

When scuba diving, there is a inevitable delay between the boat stopping (propeller switched off), people donning their scuba gear, entering the water, doing buddy checks, camera checks, etc, and by this time the whale shark has inevitably moved on.

Also you need to enter the water near a whale shark as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the whale shark. A group of Scuba Divers entering the water with tanks on and "giant stride" entries creates a lot of disturbance. Snorkellers can more easily 'slip' into the water with minimal disturbance.

When a whale shark is sighted everybody is invariably excited and in a rush to get into the water. Often there are in-experienced scuba divers in the group. For the Dive Shops to encourage entering the water with the aim of scuba diving with the Whale Shark, is to increase the possibility of scuba diving accidents.

Also it is quite difficult to keep pace with the whale shark as they cruise the water. The usual encounters last about 10 minutes or so, then everybody gets back on the boat, the boat catches up with the whale shark, and if the whale shark is not too disturbed, the process is repeated.

Much easier, quicker, and safer to do this if everybody is snorkelling rather than scuba diving.

I hope this helps

Mark
WebMaster: www.AboutUtila.com

 

[Sue-ba]

We just got back from Utila. We did not see a whale shark this trip. We were told that diving with them is also not good for the whale shark. Having dive gear on makes people more bold and thus more intrusive than when only wearing snorkeling equipment.

We had a great trip. There is more to Utila than just whale sharks. We dived 16 dives with Tex at Ecomarine. Loved it. We were there to witness his send off party. Matthew was our DM/friend for most dives along with our daughter who is also a DM. Got her DM Feb-Apr. 2005, also at Ecomarine on Utila. Mari did an excellent job certifiying our youngest, last diver. Thanks Mari...Caitlyn is telling all her friends about her experience. I highly recommend this island as a dive destination and this shop.