Very little is known about the life of the Whale Shark, primarily because of the difficulty in conducting field research into an animal that spends most of its life underwater and out of sight.

Here on Ko Lanta, divers are lucky to sight Whale Sharks at almost all our local dive sites. Hin Daeng & Hin Muang are famous for having some of the highest number of Whale Shark sightings in Thailand, but we have been noticing an increasing number being spotted at Ko Haa. The best times to come if you want to see a Whale Shark are [end-March - mid-May] or [end-Oct - mid-Nov].

Remember, Whale Shark Sightings are rare, all over the world! You always need to be having an extremely ‘lucky day’ to be lucky enough to glimpse one of these fabulous creatures!

Whale Sharks display distinguishable and recognisable identification markings. These may be in the form of natural markings (pigmentation) or acquired markings (scars, injuries), which are unique to individual animals.

Each Whale Shark has a unique, distinctive pattern of light pigmented spots along the forward flanks which have proved to be effective in differentiating individual sharks, as have scars and injuries to the first dorsal fin.

Photo-identification is a powerful non invasive field technique for studying live sharks in their natural environment. It aids researchers to understand life histories and shark movements, especially important for a vulnerable and highly migratory species like the Whale Shark.

Whale Shark Photo ID Project

Photo-ID programmes involve members of the public, dive operators and scientists taking photographs of individual characteristics such as scars and pigmentation patterns which are unique to that animal. These photographs, along with the relevant information regarding where they were taken and information about the animal, are then included in a database. This can then be searched to find matches- animals that have been photographed previously- which provides valuable data on the Whale Sharks’ biology, ecology and movement over time.

What can I do?

If you already have photos of Whale Sharks, you can submit them to the worldwide database. Please fill in the International Whale Shark Photo-Identification sighting form.

If you would like the chance to swim with a Whale Shark, we run dive trips to Ko Haa, everyday during the high season (Mid-October - End April), and most days to Hin Daeng & Hin Muang. Leaving directly from the beach in Kantiang Bay we can reach Hin Daeng in just 40 mins by comfortable motor yacht. Don’t forget your camera!

You can also take the PADI Whale Shark Awareness course. This course gives an introduction to the world’s largest fish and will familiarise you with the proper techniques for diving with Whale Sharks so as to cause minimal impact on the sharks’ habitat and behaviour.

You’ll learn the best areas on a Whale Shark’s body to take your photos, to increase the chances of a definitive identification to be made.

We’ll show you how you can upload your own photos to the worldwide database, and if you’ve spotted a Whale Shark here in Thailand, we’ll keep you informed if your shark returns to one of our dive sites.

By submitting your photographs of Whale Sharks researchers hope to match your images with their research. This will reveal the, as yet poorly known, distribution and migration routes of this species. Helping with this project will aid conservation and management strategies by providing additional data.

What happens next?

Working with the Shark Trust we hope to contribute to the most comprehensive global Whale Shark Photo-Id collection. Researchers will attempt to match any photos submitted to other snaps of the same shark in the International Whale Shark database, perhaps telling us something new about the behaviour of the Whale Shark.

Researchers are studying Whale Sharks at many sites where they are seen at certain times of year and an increasing number of divers encounter them at dive sites along their usual migratory routes or feeding grounds.

This means that every encounter that YOU have with a Whale Shark and every picture of its unique markings is an important piece of knowledge that will help further understanding about the biology of Whale Sharks and go someway towards assisting their conservation.

Here at Aqualogy, we are working to create a Lanta Whale Shark Sightings Database, so that we can track if the same individuals return each year and if they follow a path between dive sites in our area.

If you’ve spotted a Whale Shark here in Thailand, submit your photos to our scientists and we’ll keep you informed if your shark returns to one of our dive sites!

By re-identifying individuals we can gain valuable information about the biology and ecology of whale sharks. As matches are made we can make inferences about geographic movements over different time scales. This can provide valuable information about migrations, population structure and feeding behaviour and can then be used in planning conservation and management measures for the shark. Additional data (such as shark size, maturity and behaviour) recorded along with each photo-identification image can provide information relating to growth rate, age, size at maturity and reproductive behaviour of whale sharks.

Have you thought about taking the PADI Whale Shark Awareness course?

Related Articles
Coming Soon - related articles on Whale Sharks!

If you’re not a diver yet, but you’re interested in marine biology and want to participate in one of our programs, - no problem! Arrive a few days early and you can be certified as a Open Water Diver in just 3-4 days.

If you want to participate in the ReefCheck EcoDiver-program and contribute to their global survey of Reef Health, we also offer Discover ReefCheck and EcoDiver courses, for an introduction to, and certification in, reef monitoring and surveying techniques.