Whale Shark Reappears in Hong Kong Waters!
A fishing enthusiast came across a small whale shark with a length of nearly two meters in the Guozhou Islands at the end of last month.
In an interview with "Hong Kong 01", he recalled that at first he was worried about whether it would attack humans, but some fellow fishermen explained that he has a gentle personality, mainly eats plankton, and seldom appears in Hong Kong, so he was pleasantly surprised to meet him for the first time. .
Some ecologists estimate that whale sharks have the opportunity to come to Hong Kong with the Kuroshio tributaries, describing it as a rare opportunity to see them, but remind the public not to chase or go out to watch in groups to avoid accidental injury.
▼Reproduction of whale sharks in the waters of Hong Kong▼
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Anglers see whale sharks 'pulling water' by boat, both curious and surprised
Marco of the "Hand Wire Fishing" channel said that last Thursday (April 28), a group of four went fishing in the Guozhou Islands. At about 12:30 noon, they found a whale shark with a length of nearly two meters swimming near the stern of the boat. Two small fish followed, and were recognized by anglers as a whale shark, which was listed as an endangered species, so they attracted them to shoot.
Marco said that at first he was worried about whether the whale shark would attack humans, but anglers said that his character is gentle and friendly, and he mainly eats plankton, so he can continue shooting with peace of mind.
He recalled that the small whale shark had been hovering beside the boat for about 10 minutes, "pulling water" or swimming close from time to time, and then gradually left.
He also pointed out that some fishermen reported seeing whale sharks in recent years, and they were mainly found in the waters off Saigon and Aha Chau, but he saw it for the first time in 30 years of fishing, and he felt both curious and pleasantly surprised.
Zhang Mashan said that the eastern part of Hong Kong is affected by the Kuroshio tributary, which allows whale sharks to come to Hong Kong with the current.
(file picture)
Ecologists say whale sharks will not attack people and call for careful viewing: no need to feed or chase
After seeing the photo, Zhang Mashan, president of the Applied Grid Research Society, confirmed that it was an underage whale shark.
She said that the current has just changed, and the eastern part of Hong Kong is affected by the Kuroshio tributary, which gives whale sharks the opportunity to enter Hong Kong waters with the current.
When citizens encountered whale sharks, she described the opportunity as a rare opportunity. When they swim close, they can watch them carefully, but reminded not to feed them, nor to chase or form a group to go out to watch, because they move slowly and may be injured during the chase.
Mature whale shark can be up to 20 meters long and is the largest fish in the world
Whale sharks are endangered species. Mature whale sharks have a body length of 12 meters and a maximum length of 20 meters. They are currently the largest fish in the world. They are also filter feeders, with plankton, krill, small fish, squid and Algae for food.
They can swim long distances and are highly migratory fish.
Each whale shark has distinctive yellow or white spots and textures, and scientists can identify them by the spots on their pectoral fins.
South China Sea and Taiwan Strait are more common
Zhang Mashan said that whale sharks are more common in the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, and southern Yellow Sea. Although they usually appear in offshore areas, their seasonal foraging activities occasionally occur in several coastal areas, such as the Ningge Road Coral Reef in Western Australia. (Ningaloo Reef), Honduras, Dong Soo and Batangas in the Philippines and Pemba and Zanziba in Tanzania.
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In 2018, an aquarist found a whale shark about 4 to 5 meters long in the southern waters of Hong Kong
Looking through the information, in recent years, there have been reports from the public that whale sharks have been found. In May 2018, a local fisherman found a whale shark with a length of about 4 to 5 meters in the southern waters of Hong Kong; in July 2012, the Government Flying Service team was off Lamma Island. A large fish was photographed on the sea surface, and WWF Hong Kong confirmed based on the video that it was an juvenile whale shark; in 2008, a trawler caught a whale shark in Hong Kong waters, it died soon after, and was discarded in a heap fill area.
Carcass of a 41cm-long shark found at Butterfly BeachThe third shark stranding case this yearThe shark stranded on Lamma Island beach with moderate decay : I believe that the Hong Kong tour group urged Maxim to withdraw the shark fin group annual meal package to conserve the "nearly endangered" great blue shark. Only 8% of the public knew that the "spring fin" came from the endangered hammerhead shark group. Huan Tuan revealed that the import volume of seafood substitutes for shark fins and shark products has increased.