A breathtaking encounter

Signalling the start of her research, Clara raises her hand, takes a deep breath, and dives down: two, three, four, five metres down and only some three metres from the whale shark, she glides along beside it. Despite her long freediving fins, Clara appears short when compared to the roughly six-metre-long whale shark. Its tail fin glides slowly through the water, the white spots on its dark grey-blue skin glowing in the rays of the sun as they break through the water’s surface. Clara photographs the pattern of spots above the pectoral fin, which is the researcher’s way of later identifying the animal – it is a kind of fingerprint. She also observes its behaviour: does it try to avoid her, open its huge mouth, and suck in water? Does it swim quickly or slowly? Is it curious or shy? Does it even want to interact?

Most of the roughly 7,500 animals thus far registered in the Atol are juveniles, males, and six metres long on average. Fully-grown whale sharks can measure up to 18 metres in length and weigh just shy of 15 tonnes. As Clara explains: ‘We think they come up here along the reef lines to rest and warm their bodies in the warm water after feeding deep down.’ By ‘deep down’ she means nearly 2,000 metres below the surface where the temperatures are as low as 3 °C and the pressure reaches nearly 200 bar. With a suction of up to 6,000 litres per hour, this is where whale sharks suck in water, plankton, and small fish through their large mouths, only to filter out the nutrients and squeeze the water out through their gills.

Besides their research work, the team also works with the locals to educate them about the animals. ‘MWSRP visits schools and trains diving instructors, tourism officials, and locals in a bid to share their knowledge about whale sharks,’ explains Clara. After all: her research – and therefore the protection of the animals – stands a better chance if the local population is on board. That is why she regularly invites local children to join them when they take the boat out to conduct their research.

The South Ari Atoll has recently been declared a nature reserve, which is quite unusual for the Maldives. To protect the impressive natural diversity, more urgently need to follow. New rules for the South Ari Atoll ban fishing with nets and with lights at night, while boats have to slow down since going too fast can also disturb the animals and plants.