Growth Rates

Whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea. They are known to grow upwards of twelve metres and there have been unverified reports of whale sharks as large as eighteen metres. The largest shark known to the team is ten metres long but almost of the sharks identified in the Maldives are juvenile, their average size being only about six metres, and the smallest is only two and a half metres long.

One of MWSRP's aims is to determine the annual growth rates of the sharks. This is made possible through the high re-sighting record in the Maldives. The team has identified over one hundred and thirty individuals and has encountered these same individuals over seven hundred times.

Measuring

Probably the most challenging part of MWSRP's research is measuring each shark. Two members of the team will free-dive to the shark and using a measuring rope, they will place one end as close as possible to the shark's snout while the other extends the rope towards the upper tip of the caudal (tail).

The MWSRP measures each individual repeatedly at every opportunity. Over the past four years the changing lengths of a large number of sharks has been documented and the data will soon be analysed for publication.