shark wale

The whale shark, the largest fish in the sea thanks to

its 12 meters or more, has a great menu to choose
from. Fortunately for most sea creatures (and us!),
their favorite food is plankton. They capture these
tiny plants and animals, along with any passing small
fish, with their colossal gaping mouths as they swim
close to the surface of the water.
 of the genus Rhincodon and the only extant member of the family Rhincodontidae,
which belongs to the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes. Before
1984 it was classified as Rhiniodon into Rhinodontidae.
The whale shark is found in open waters of the tropical oceans and is rarely found in
water below 21 °C (70 °F).[2] Studies looking at vertebral growth bands and the
growth rates of free-swimming sharks have estimated whale shark lifespans at 80–
130 years.[10][11][12] Whale sharks have very large mouths and are filter feeders,
which is a feeding mode that occurs in only two other sharks, the megamouth shark
and the basking shark. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and small fishes,
and pose no threat to humans.
 Description
Whale shark mouths can contain over 300 rows of tiny teeth and 20 filter pads which it uses to filter feed.
[15] Unlike many other sharks, whale sharks' mouths are located at the front of the head rather than on
the underside of the head.[16] A 12.1 m (39.7 ft) whale shark was reported to have a mouth 1.55 m (5.1 ft)
across.[17] The head is wide and flat with two small eyes at the front corners. The spiracles are located just
behind the eyes. Whale sharks have five large pairs of gills. Their skin is dark grey with a white belly
marked with pale grey or white spots and stripes which are unique to each individual. Its skin can be up to
15 cm thick and is very hard and rough to the touch. The whale shark has three prominent ridges along its
sides, which start above and behind the head and end at the caudal peduncle.[18] The shark has two dorsal
fins set relatively far back on the body, a pair of pectoral fins, a pair of pelvic fins and a single medial anal
fin. The tail has a larger upper lobe than the lower lobe (heterocercal).

Whale sharks were found to possess dermal denticles on the surface of their eyeballs which are structured
differently from their body denticles. These denticles serve to protect the eye from damage, along with the
whale shark's ability to retract its eye deep into its socket.[19][20]

The complete and annotated genome of the whale shark was published in 2017.[21]

Evidence suggests that whale sharks can recover from major injuries and may be able to regenerate small
sections of their fins. Their spot markings have also been shown to reform over a previously wounded area
 Distribution and habitat
The whale shark inhabits all tropical and warm-temperate seas. The fish is primarily pelagic, and
can be found in both coastal and oceanic habitats[40] living in the open sea but not in the greater
depths of the ocean, although it is known to occasionally dive to depths of as much as 1,900 metres
(6,200 ft).[40][41] It is migratory[11] and has two distinct subpopulations: an Atlantic subpopulation,
from Maine and the Azores to Cape Agulhas, South Africa, and an Indo-Pacific subpopulation which
holds 75% of the entire whale shark population. It usually roams between 30°N and 35°S where
water temperatures are higher than 21 °C (70 °F) but have been spotted as north as the Bay of
Fundy, Canada and the Sea of Okhotsk north of Japan and as far south as Victoria, Australia.[2]

Seasonal feeding aggregations occur at several coastal sites such as the Persian Gulf and Gulf of
Oman, Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, Darwin Island in the Galápagos, Quintana Roo in
Mexico, Inhambane province in Mozambique, the Philippines, around Mahe in the Seychelles,[40]
the Gujarat[40] and Kerala coasts of India,[42][43] Taiwan, southern China[40] and Qatar.[44]

In 2011, more than 400 whale sharks gathered off the Yucatan Coast. It was one of the largest
gatherings of whale sharks recorded.[45] Aggregations in that area are among the most reliable
seasonal gatherings known for whale sharks, with large numbers occurring in most years between
May and September. Associated ecotourism has grown rapidly to unsustainable levels
The first attempt at keeping whale sharks in captivity was in 1934 when an individual
was kept for about four months in a netted-off natural bay in Izu, Japan.[80] The first
attempt of keeping whale sharks in an aquarium was initiated in 1980 by the Okinawa
Churaumi Aquarium (then known as Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium) in Japan.[77]
Since 1980, several have been kept at Okinawa, mostly obtained from incidental
catches in coastal nets set by fishers (none after 2009), but two were strandings.
Several of these were already weak from the capture/stranding and some were
released,[77] but initial captive survival rates were low.[79] After the initial difficulties
in maintaining the species had been resolved, some have survived long-term in
captivity.[77] The record for a whale shark in captivity is an individual that, as of 2021,
has lived for more than 26 years in the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium from Okinawa
Ocean Expo Aquarium.[81][77] Following Okinawa, Osaka Aquarium started keeping
whale sharks and most of the basic research on the keeping of the species was made
at these two institutions.[82]
 POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Effective results in critical areas are urgent. To do this, mitigation actions must be
carried out collaboratively. Monitoring and understanding the effects of maritime
transport on our oceans is essential to focus efforts on mitigating the externalities
generated by the activity and guide shipping companies towards more sustainable
transport.

Friend of the Sea, a program promoting products and services that are respectful of
the marine habitat, decided to launch an awareness campaign and reward those
maritime transport operators that implement measures to prevent whale strikes”.
Friend of the sea Safe standard for whales
Friend of the Sea urges ship owners and governments to implement measures to
prevent whale strikes: a combination of thermal cameras, online reporting systems,
changing shipping lanes. The cruise lines, ship operators and fishing fleets that will
implement these measures will be identifiable by the Friend of the Sea WHALE-SAFE
logo. In turn, everyone can help protect whales by choosing Friend of the Sea
thancks for watching