A Big Fish Expeditions Trip Report
This year’s expedition to witness the seasonal whale shark aggregation at Isla Mujeres, Mexico was beyond everyone’s expectations. On the best days we shared the water with over 200 whale sharks!
It is almost impossible to adequately describe what it is like to swim with hundreds of animals of this magnitude. The fact that they are such gentle animals that will do whatever they can to avoid bumping into a diver, just added to the wonder of the experience.
The animals were usually spread over a patch of ocean about a mile long in order to feed on tiny fish eggs that were suspended in the water column. Although the water was rich in food for the sharks it was still surprisingly clear and blue which gave everyone the chance to get some epic images.
As long as you had a wide enough lens you really couldn’t avoid coming home with amazing images. The sharks just kept coming. I would swim with a shark until I couldn’t keep up anymore and then I’d float while I was catching my breath and wait for the next shark to swim near me. It got to the point where I was hoping that the sharks would give me more a break so that I had more time to recover! lol. This short video that I shot during the trip will give you an idea of how the sharks would materialize one after another.
It was also a real pleasure to see many of my hard core Big Fish guests bringing their non-certified friends and family along on this trip. Watching the more inexperienced guests climb back on the boat wide eyed was very satisfying for me. I believe this encounter put a love of the oceans in many hearts.
Next year we will be there again at the exact middle of whale shark season. Join us if you can!
Isla Mujeres Whale Shark Expedition 2013
Almost forgot … there were schooling mobula rays swimming around under the sharks too! 🙂
