Lab Wants To Learn More About Giant Whale Sharks In Gulf

October 13, 2004

Release from: Associated Press

OCEAN SPRINGS. Miss. - Jim Franks and the fisheries biologists at the Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs want to know more about the massive whale sharks that spend summers in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Two Ocean Springs fishermen recently spotted an 18-foot whale shark in 70 feet of water on the east side of Chandeleur Island. Whale sharks can reach 45 feet in length and are often weighed in tons, not pounds.

In some places in the northern Gulf, swimmers actually join whale sharks in the water and pose for photos.

Although it is a shark, it's not dangerous to humans like bull sharks and great white sharks.

Franks said the lab would like to attach satellite tags to the sharks to learn about their habits.