Whale sharks 2015

[Ralph Capeling]

Hi Clint
We often put together packages that fit the needs of individual customers - after all it is the guests vacation and we do our best to meet customers needs and expectations. However, we don't do that for individuals at whale shark time in April and May. That is peak peak season for us and we can only provide high quality service if we are focused on the groups that are here for the Splash packages. We have found that in the past when we tried to fit in divers for one or two days that it just did not work very well and as it is our peak peak season and there are limits to how many boats we can have in the whale shark zone (need special permits) and there are limits on how many divers or snorkelers (12) can be in each boat. During that time we also have our regular dive trips going to Silk Cayes, South Water Caye, Blue Hole, Glover's Atoll, etc where we can handle walk-ins (although it is still better to book for those as we have had times where we had to turn customers away (example Glover's Atoll at Christmas where even sending two boats was not enough for the interest).
Clint, we hate to turn away potential customers but have established this policy for whale shark time in April in May but our experience has shown us this is the best policy.
You could contact Turtle Inn or Robert's Grove to see if they can fit you in for a couple of days.
Regards
Ralph

Is it possible to put together and quote for a shorter duration package then? Like 4-5 nights at Sea Spray, 2 days whale shark diving, 1 day reef dive, no land tour - for one person?

 

[danvolker]

Hi Clint
We often put together packages that fit the needs of individual customers - after all it is the guests vacation and we do our best to meet customers needs and expectations. However, we don't do that for individuals at whale shark time in April and May. That is peak peak season for us and we can only provide high quality service if we are focused on the groups that are here for the Splash packages. We have found that in the past when we tried to fit in divers for one or two days that it just did not work very well and as it is our peak peak season and there are limits to how many boats we can have in the whale shark zone (need special permits) and there are limits on how many divers or snorkelers (12) can be in each boat. During that time we also have our regular dive trips going to Silk Cayes, South Water Caye, Blue Hole, Glover's Atoll, etc where we can handle walk-ins (although it is still better to book for those as we have had times where we had to turn customers away (example Glover's Atoll at Christmas where even sending two boats was not enough for the interest).
Clint, we hate to turn away potential customers but have established this policy for whale shark time in April in May but our experience has shown us this is the best policy.
You could contact Turtle Inn or Robert's Grove to see if they can fit you in for a couple of days.
Regards
Ralph

Clint, let me ask you the same question I asked chilly....As a freediver videographer, when I go to shoot whalesharks, I want to be in the water a long time, with a lot of whalesharks...Is there a way to guarantee this with SPECIFIC boat, or type of dive trip..are there special permits for better film access ? Is this a non-issue?
Are there times when the typical diver or snorkeler is too challenged by the speed of the whalesharks due to daily habits/feeding cycles, or when conditions are too challenging for the typical tourist ( which means typical very slow, can't swim well types, that make up most divers?)

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Dan, at Splash we do not promote March for whale shark diving as the encounter rate is lower during March and we very much want our guests to have the best chance of getting up close to whale sharks. During the March whale shark moon we do have guests who show up and want to dive or snorkel with whale sharks, we do some scouting to see if they are around. If guests are interested to go to whale shark zone in March, we will do our best to inform them on the chances for seeing whale sharks and we will take them if they want to go. Sometimes we will do a combined sort of dive trip to the whale shark zone and to Silk Cayes (as the whale shark dives are blue water dives with no visual reference so you may only see beautiful blue water on a whale shark dive in March).
Dan, as there is less demand in March, you could charter one of our boats so you and a whale shark licensed dive master/guide and whale shark licensed boat captians would be the only ones in the boat.

Chilly,
Is there an issue as to how long you could freedive with Whalesharks ( shooting video, etc) in the March season? This is something I am planning for this year, but would like to find a large concentration of whalesharks without a huge group of divers that are competing to be allowed in the water....How does this work?

 

[danvolker]

Dan, at Splash we do not promote March for whale shark diving as the encounter rate is lower during March and we very much want our guests to have the best chance of getting up close to whale sharks. During the March whale shark moon we do have guests who show up and want to dive or snorkel with whale sharks, we do some scouting to see if they are around. If guests are interested to go to whale shark zone in March, we will do our best to inform them on the chances for seeing whale sharks and we will take them if they want to go. Sometimes we will do a combined sort of dive trip to the whale shark zone and to Silk Cayes (as the whale shark dives are blue water dives with no visual reference so you may only see beautiful blue water on a whale shark dive in March).
Dan, as there is less demand in March, you could charter one of our boats so you and a whale shark licensed dive master/guide and whale shark licensed boat captians would be the only ones in the boat.

Ralph,
So when IS the best time to see whalesharks and video them off Belize? And is there a "BEST" site for Whalesharks off of Belize...I understand there are several areas off Belize that you could say, "compete" for the Dive Tourism ?

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Dan, you could contact Surthern Environmental Association (SEA) to see if you can make a special arrangement.
Their contact info is
Main Office:
Placencia Village
Stann Creek District
Belize, Central America
Phone: (501) 523-3377
Fax: (501) 523-3395
Email: info@seabelize.org

The website is S.E.A. Belize

Regards
Ralph

Clint, let me ask you the same question I asked chilly....As a freediver videographer, when I go to shoot whalesharks, I want to be in the water a long time, with a lot of whalesharks...Is there a way to guarantee this with SPECIFIC boat, or type of dive trip..are there special permits for better film access ? Is this a non-issue?
Are there times when the typical diver or snorkeler is too challenged by the speed of the whalesharks due to daily habits/feeding cycles, or when conditions are too challenging for the typical tourist ( which means typical very slow, can't swim well types, that make up most divers?)

 

[chillyinCanada]

There are different areas in Belize that may compete for divers but to my knowledge, the only place that is known for whale sharks is Gladden Spit (around full moon in April and May with possibilities in March, not sure about June).

Dan, you do know that the whale sharks don't actively avoid the divers, right? We are like nothing to them. With your powerful legs, loooong fins and camera, you'll see as many as anyone else with an eye for it and perhaps keep up long enough to get some good shots. Might have a better chance of getting ahead of one coming towards you anyway instead of just being stunned by it.

And Dan don't forget, verrry large fines for deliberate touching and those that report you share in the funds. You'll be wanting to be careful about deliberate touching because everyone is motivated to make sure you keep your hands to yourself.

 

[danvolker]

There are different areas in Belize that may compete for divers but to my knowledge, the only place that is known for whale sharks is Gladden Spit (around full moon in April and May with possibilities in March, not sure about June).

Dan, you do know that the whale sharks don't actively avoid the divers, right? We are like nothing to them. With your powerful legs, loooong fins and camera, you'll see as many as anyone else with an eye for it and perhaps keep up long enough to get some good shots. Might have a better chance of getting ahead of one coming towards you anyway instead of just being stunned by it.

And Dan don't forget, verrry large fines for deliberate touching and those that report you share in the funds. You'll be wanting to be careful about deliberate touching because everyone is motivated to make sure you keep your hands to yourself.

Thanks Chilly!
And not to worry, Dumpster diver is the SB member that is compelled to "touch" everything, not me !

 

[Yobubba]

I cant count the emails I've gotten about Whale Shark, tons of folk have a misconception about seeing them on San Pedro/Ambergris Caye, for the record here the Whale Shark are in Southern Belize. Sightings in the Northern parts of the country are rare and expecting to see them outside of The gladden Split is unrealistic. Splash Dive Center is one of the best outfits to hookup with for Whale Shark in Southern Belize.

 

[FyshEye]

I will be heading down to Belize again this April during the week of April 5 (Birthday) thru April 12^th. I tried to hook up with Splash, but they are all booked up for the week. However, I was able to find another reputable D/O that had a few open spots for the Whale Sharks.

I am a photographer, and I am going at this time to Photograph the Whale Sharks. I went to the S.E.A. Belize website and found the rules/etiquette Whale Shark Tourism Interaction Guidelines on diving with the Whale Sharks. I was specifically looking up the rules for using a flash/strobes. What I found was #6 “NO FLASH Photography”. I am OK with that rule. Not surprising this rule is in-line with most dive operations around the world in regards to photographing whale sharks. However, I could not find a policy about using video lights? Video lights would give me a constant light source to get proper color correction.

Does anyone have any firsthand knowledge of the policy use of video lights while diving & photographing the Whale Sharks?

P.S. I will be using a Tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens, using a red color correction filter will not work on this lens.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

We don't see nets at Gladden Spit but this is good news for the whale sharks when they are not on vacation in Belize!
Regards
Ralph

Biggest fish in the ocean receives international protection

Date:​

January 20, 2015

Source:​

NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region

Summary:​

Tuna and other fish species may congregate around whale sharks, but new rule reduces the chance that the giant sea creatures could get caught in nets targeting those species.

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Whale sharks, the largest fish in the sea, received new protection that reduces the risk they could be caught in fishing nets.
Credit: Dave Witting/NOAA Fisheries

[Click to enlarge image]
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Whale sharks are among the largest living fish in the world -- weighing up to 40,000 pounds and 40 feet in length. They are also so docile that humans often swim with them without concern, snapping photographs of their incredible size.


But it is exactly their enormous bulk that had an international commission adopt restrictions protecting them from impacts associated with the international tuna purse seine fishing in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO).
Commercial fishermen have known for some time that tuna, along with many other species of fish, congregate around objects drifting on the ocean surface. Fishermen often build floating structures called FADs, or fish-aggregating devices, to attract tuna to an area, allowing them to capitalize on this behavior. Using FADs makes the job of finding and encircling the tuna in the purse seine nets much more efficient.
Fishermen also learned that whale sharks are so large that they naturally attract tuna, much like a FAD. This led some fishermen to deploy nets around a whale shark to capture tuna swimming beneath it. In many of the cases, the encircled whale shark was also caught in the net and injured or died.
To protect whale sharks from this harm, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) adopted a resolution, by consensus, in 2013 prohibiting the placement of a purse seine net around whale sharks and requiring the release of whale sharks unharmed in the event that they are inadvertently encircled by a net.
While setting on whale sharks is not a method used by U.S. tuna fishing vessels, NOAA Fisheries issued regulations in September prohibiting the practice by the U.S. fleet operating in the EPO. These regulations ensure that the U.S. is meeting its obligations under the IATTC resolution.
Chris Fanning, a fishery policy analyst with NOAA Fisheries' West Coast Region who helped draft the regulations and has swam with whale sharks said, "These are some of the most incredible animals in the ocean, and while U.S. fishing vessels don't engage in this practice, we are very supportive of this international resolution to help protect these amazing creatures."
Every whale shark has a unique pattern of spots and stripes on their skin, much like a fingerprint is a unique marker of individual humans. The animals are known for their colossal mouths, which are nearly five-feet in diameter and siphon plankton, small fish, and larvae as they swim through the ocean. Whale sharks are found in tropical and warm ocean waters and live approximately 70 years.

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Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.