Whale Shark — The Ocean's Gentle Giant
Rhincodon typus
Quick Fact
The whale shark is the largest fish in the ocean — yet it feeds on some of the smallest organisms, filtering over 6,000 litres of water per hour.
About This Species
The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is the largest fish in the ocean, reaching lengths of up to 18 metres and weighing up to 19 tonnes. Despite their enormous size, whale sharks are filter feeders — they swim slowly with their mouths open, filtering vast quantities of plankton, fish eggs, and small fish from the water. A whale shark can filter over 6,000 litres of water per hour. They are found in tropical and warm temperate oceans worldwide, often aggregating at predictable feeding sites. Whale sharks are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Why It Matters
Whale sharks are threatened by boat strikes, bycatch, and targeted fishing for their fins and meat. Their slow reproductive rate makes population recovery extremely slow.
Transcript
The whale shark is the largest fish in the ocean. Full stop. Up to 18 metres long. Up to 19 tonnes. And yet it feeds on some of the smallest organisms in the sea. Whale sharks are filter feeders. They swim slowly through the water with their enormous mouths open — up to 1.5 metres wide — filtering vast quantities of plankton, fish eggs, and small fish. A whale shark can filter over 6,000 litres of water per hour. They're found in tropical and warm temperate oceans worldwide, often aggregating at predictable feeding sites where plankton blooms or fish spawning events concentrate food. The waters around the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, the Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, and the Maldives are among the best places in the world to encounter them. Despite their size, whale sharks are gentle. They're completely harmless to humans. Divers and snorkellers can swim alongside them — and the experience of being next to an animal that size, moving with such slow, unhurried grace, is genuinely humbling. Whale sharks are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. They're threatened by boat strikes — their slow surface feeding makes them vulnerable to propellers — and by targeted fishing for their fins and meat in parts of Asia. They're also slow to mature and reproduce, which means population recovery from hunting is extremely slow. A whale shark is a living reminder of what the ocean is capable of producing. We should be doing everything we can to protect them.