sustainable whale shark tours - east coast of Mexico

[Trevor JC Brown]

Hello all,

I plan to visit the riviera for the specific purpose of going to see the whale sharks.
Is it better to go to Holbox and do the tour as it seems to be closer to the whale shark area and does anyone know of any tour operators that actively work in the conservation of the whale sharks? I'm not looking for just the right permits but one that has educational or training programs in place in the community.
Many thanks for the help.

 

[Dan]

Talk to Misael of Mexico Divers, Diving Isla Mujeres & Cancun - Book Diving & Activities in Isla Mujeres & Cancun

I went with them last month. It took only 90 minute boat ride from Isla Mujeres. There are tons of them there. Here is a video I took while snorkeling there:

@Ken Kurtis gave me these drone pictures below. You can see how many they were there & as big as the boat (white specs in the blue water).

In Holbox I went there with Whaleshark Dady. He has good operations, but I don't like the greenish water there, which make it hard to see the fish.

 

[Trevor JC Brown]

Thank you for the information but I did not see any community programs on their website or facebook. Do you know of anything they do?

 

[Dan]

Ask Misael. He's a guide there & knows a lot about the whaleshark there. He can lead you to any community program in / around Isla Mujeres. You can also PM @Ken Kurtis Ken has Isla Mujeres whaleshark presentation. He takes his group from California to there very often.

 

[Trevor JC Brown]

So you mentioned that it's better from mujeres because of the water clarity. Does this mean there is more than one spot to see them? I thought it was one large aggregation.

 

[Dan]

So you mentioned that it's better from mujeres because of the water clarity. Does this mean there is more than one spot to see them? I thought it was one large aggregation.

Yep. Holbox whalesharks like to hang around the north of Yucatán peninsula for planktons in greenish water.

The Isla Mujeres whalesharks like to eat the fish eggs off the blue water of northeast of Yucatán peninsula, about 3 miles off Isla Mujeres. Around that area the bottom drops down from 100' to 1000' creating upwelling that bring the fish eggs to the surface. July-September is the spawning period for snappers. When I was swimming there, I got fish eggs on my wetsuit, hair, everywhere. Misael told me that each whaleshark probably consumes 200-300 lbs of fish eggs / day.