Whaleshark sighting near Kittiwake

[Roombaguy]

Unfortunately I was not there.But I found this picture from @Cortie_portie on Twitter, so all credit to that person. Hopefully there are other people on this board who will post more pictures. Lucky them!!! According to what I read this was on Saturday morning.

 

[BubbleBlocker]

Unfortunately there was a lot of bad behavior exhibited by the divers around the whale shark. I mean, c'mon folks, why would a diver think it would be acceptable to ride a whale shark?

No wonder they don't show up more often.

BTW, there were a lot of incriminating photos on FB before they were yanked. I have the uncropped version of the one you posted and the diver on the left was clearly riding on the whale shark's back. Uncool.

 

[irishtn]

Great that some people got that lucky, shame they had to spoil it.
I hate to say it but it reminds me of the cruise people who snorkel out to the reef and stand up on it, then look back at shore as if they accomplished something. And yes I know I am stereotyping, but it certainly seems like cruisers have alot less respect for mother nature.
Also if the shark had whipped its tail around and knocked the guy out, there would be an uproar about unsafe it is to view Whale Sharks.

 

[WendyCayman]

Terrible... Poor thing was scared to death.. why can't it be special enough to just observe?! What a treat for these divers who took advantage. I'm hearing now that it was a young whale shark... well, they taught him a lesson: no divers, no islands, no Grand Cayman.

 

[ianr33]

Does Cayman have actual laws against this? Would imagine prompt deportation of offending divers would have some affect.

Of course, doing that would negatively impact the revenue stream.

 

[Testudo]

Does Cayman have actual laws against this? Would imagine prompt deportation of offending divers would have some affect.

Of course, doing that would negatively impact the revenue stream.

Doesn't appear that molesting any marine animals, other than turtles, is prohibited.

Cayman Department of Environment » Marine Parks Maps, Regulations and Marine Conservation Laws

 

[WendyCayman]

I will look into the laws some more... I have a feeling that the whaleshark was actually protected here.

 

[WendyCayman]

I've read the Marine Conservation Laws for Cayman all the way back from the 1970's and while there is no unequivical mention of this being a violation of the laws regarding "disturb" or "molest" what has happened directly contradicts the spirit of these Laws and Regulations. I have a feeling that the Caymanian Department of the Environment will be proposing amendments to counter this outstanding mishandling of spectacular marine life for the future.

 

[irishtn]

Yeah I think its probably due to the fact that it is so rare to see one in GC. Places where they are common like Belize have very specific laws regarding how many meters away you have to be, boat regulations, etc etc.
Wendy: Keep us updated if you don't mind. I'm very interested if this makes any "noise" on the island.

 

[WendyCayman]

I will, indeed! So far, I've only heard two groups: those who would have joined in on the "fun" and those who would have liked the shark to hang around for more to see, thus not wanting to have frightened it away... Many in the dive community here seem to be very disappointed in those divers who acted the way they did. I will also try and chat with DOE to see what they have to say about this special moment when a whale shark visited GC.