Dan
Contributor
After striking out of whaleshark sighting in Utila, I made sure that my next trip wouldn't be a bust, so that led to Holbox. However, the greenish & cold water there was kind of a setback. I wanted to dive with them in warm blue water, not snorkeling in cold & murky water. Cendrawasih Bay met that criteria & glad I did. Later on @Ken Kurtis showed me his presentation of "Gentle Jaws... Diving with Whalesharks" which led me to go to Isla Mujeres.
So far, based on my limited experience posted earlier & reading of people posting their whalesharks sightings in the blue water, not in the greenish water like in Holbox, I come to a conclusion that if you want 99% guaranty to snorkel with whaleshark, just go to Isla Mujeres. If you prefer to dive with them with 99% guaranty, then go to Cendrawasih Bay. Why are the odds so high to see them in the those two places? Read on.
In Isla Mujeres, as @scuba_frog mentioned, their migration season is from May to be September, so, if you want to increase your odds of seeing them, go there during the peak season. That's why I went there in July. During that time, snappers spawn & release tons of their eggs at around sea bottom ledges, where the sea bottoms drop from about 100 feet deep to the abyss. Upwellings from the abyss to the ledges bring the those eggs to the sea surface. The whalesharks know that and migrate to that area to filter feed the eggs. The boat tour guide told me that each whaleshark consumes about 200-300 lbs/day and they could be hundreds of them during the peak seasons. I'm surprised how much eggs those snappers have to produce to survive the onslaught of the huge appetite of those whalesharks.
The pictures, below, courtesy of @Ken Kurtis. White specs in the blue are boats. You can see the whalesharks are as big as the boats.
In Cendrawasih Bay, fisherman build a floating platform, called Bagan, out of 2 boats & bamboo lattice as shown below, for them to fish for tuna.
They use anchovies as baits & put the life anchovies in a net underneath the Bagan. Whalesharks like to come & visit the Bagan to suck on the net for fish oils, pieces of scraps small critters that fall out of the net. The presence of whalesharks to Papuan fishermen bring good luck. They started feeding the whalesharks with some small dead fish. Pretty soon there were several "regular" whaleshark visitors on the Bagan that attracted liveaboard to rent the Bagan for a day of diving under the Bagan. Then you could be a lucky diver surrounded by whalesharks like this girl, below.
So far, based on my limited experience posted earlier & reading of people posting their whalesharks sightings in the blue water, not in the greenish water like in Holbox, I come to a conclusion that if you want 99% guaranty to snorkel with whaleshark, just go to Isla Mujeres. If you prefer to dive with them with 99% guaranty, then go to Cendrawasih Bay. Why are the odds so high to see them in the those two places? Read on.
In Isla Mujeres, as @scuba_frog mentioned, their migration season is from May to be September, so, if you want to increase your odds of seeing them, go there during the peak season. That's why I went there in July. During that time, snappers spawn & release tons of their eggs at around sea bottom ledges, where the sea bottoms drop from about 100 feet deep to the abyss. Upwellings from the abyss to the ledges bring the those eggs to the sea surface. The whalesharks know that and migrate to that area to filter feed the eggs. The boat tour guide told me that each whaleshark consumes about 200-300 lbs/day and they could be hundreds of them during the peak seasons. I'm surprised how much eggs those snappers have to produce to survive the onslaught of the huge appetite of those whalesharks.
The pictures, below, courtesy of @Ken Kurtis. White specs in the blue are boats. You can see the whalesharks are as big as the boats.
In Cendrawasih Bay, fisherman build a floating platform, called Bagan, out of 2 boats & bamboo lattice as shown below, for them to fish for tuna.
They use anchovies as baits & put the life anchovies in a net underneath the Bagan. Whalesharks like to come & visit the Bagan to suck on the net for fish oils, pieces of scraps small critters that fall out of the net. The presence of whalesharks to Papuan fishermen bring good luck. They started feeding the whalesharks with some small dead fish. Pretty soon there were several "regular" whaleshark visitors on the Bagan that attracted liveaboard to rent the Bagan for a day of diving under the Bagan. Then you could be a lucky diver surrounded by whalesharks like this girl, below.
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