Let us know if there is a problem with our content. Your message to the editors. Your email only if you want to be contacted back. Send Feedback. Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors. E-mail the story A population study of whale sharks in the Red Sea reveals unique group dynamics. Your friend's email. Your email. I would like to subscribe to Science X Newsletter. Learn more. Your name. Note Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email.
Your message. Your Privacy This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, collect data for ads personalisation and provide content from third parties. Ok Cookie options. E-mail newsletter. It appears that you are currently using Ad Blocking software. What are the consequences? I began studying the whale sharks of Djibouti in , initially with the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles, and since have managed the project as part of an international team of researchers.
Our team includes Dr. Our research expeditions bring citizen scientists to Djibouti to act as field assistants, who help to collect data on the sharks while exploring the Gulf ecosystem.
There is a rhythm to life on board the Deli. At anchor in the Gulf of Tadjoura for a week at a time, each day is divided by three outings to find and document whale sharks. Two small skiffs depart the ship to search for tell-tale caudal fin tips breaking the surface of the sea. When a shark is located, a team drops into the water to record data including size, sex, behaviour and feeding activity, and to collect spot pattern photos for identification.
These fingerprint-like skin patterns can identify individual animals over many years, allowing scientists to track their movements non-invasively. Team members who remain on the skiff collect plankton samples from areas where sharks are or are not feeding, to learn more about the resources we believe bring them to the Gulf. Depending on the studies planned, the primary researchers may obtain tissue samples for genetics my own specialty or place satellite tags for remote tracking of the sharks.
This past season brought individuals from ten nations to learn about the whale sharks of Djibouti. These giant sharks truly are ambassadors for the countries that host them. Our main research goal this year was to place satellite tags that would allow us to track whale shark movements and behaviour for up to six months.
We hoped in particular that the tags would tell us where the sharks go when they leave the Gulf of Tadjoura. It turned out that we would not have to wait long for an answer.
Our arrival in Djibouti occurred during flood conditions, extremely unusual in this arid country. Two weeks of heavy rain had inundated the city, and runoff from the volcanic hills heavily silted the water in the Gulf. Our local partners noted that whale sharks had not been seen for some time, likely because the water conditions had altered the plankton web. Feeding Baby Sharks. Mola Mola. Diving with the White Sharks. Croc Cage Diving.
Wall of Sharks. Jellyfish Lake. Swimming with Whale Sharks. Sardine Run. Seal Snorkeling. Snorkeling with Leopard Sharks at La Jolla. Whale Shark Season around Utila. Manta Rays in Baa Atoll. Swim with Stingless Jellyfish in Kakaban Lake. Few places in the world are as directly related to diving as the Red Sea. This gulf of the Indian Ocean has a length of 2, km and reaches depths of over 2, meters providing rich waters and nutrients that feed their beautiful coral gardens.
Considered one of the 7 wonders of the underwater world and with a crucial role in the development of maritime trade for centuries, you can visit the Red Sea through liveaboards that may take you to the best of the northern route such as Sharm el Sheik and the Hurghada shipwrecks or to the south, exciting and less crowded, with extraordinary coral gardens and the sharks of Marsa Alam. You can go even further south, to Sudan, where you can enter the creepy Umbria wreck or access to the unique underwater city of Jacques Cousteau , who was one the first divers to recognize the value of underwater life of the Red Sea, to which he devoted much of his career.
The other way to dive the Red Sea is from resorts and hotels , that also offer the possibility of adding to the dive trip the chance to visit one of the most attractive and long-lived civilizations in history.
The Red Sea gets its name by the proliferation of algae that give a reddish tint to its waters. It is the home of over 1, species of invertebrates, species of both soft and hard coral and over 1, species of fish that live in clear waters with visibility up to 40 meters.
The Red Sea offers thousands of diving options, either if you are just starting out diving or if you have experience and are a lover of strong sensations: vertical walls, dozens of wrecks, coral gardens, the Blue Hole in Dahab, diving with large pelagic creatures such as whale sharks, hammerhead sharks or the fearsome oceanic whitetip shark and even places intended for those who just want to snorkel. The Red Sea is usually one of the first destinations for divers who "leave home" for their first dive trip, mainly because of the quality of diving there and also by the large amount of options and prices offered.
It is also located perfectly between Europe and Asia. Undoubtedly, wreck diving is one of the main attractions of the Red Sea. Pic by lapurrak. You can dive in the Red Sea at any time of year , although water temperatures can vary significantly.
The whale shark season, one of the attractions of the Red Sea, runs from late May to late July.
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