Whale sharks spotted off Anna Maria Island

Five whale sharks were spotted 40 miles off Anna Maria Island last week.

And now, Mote Marine Laboratory is asking citizens to report new sightings of the species off the Gulf Coast immediately.

Dr. Bob Hueter, senior scientist and director of the Center for Shark Research at Mote, and his partners want to attach a satellite tag to one or more of the sharks to collect data on their location and the temperatures and depths they live in over a six-month period, a statement from Mote said.

“It’s important to understand where these sharks migrate, feed and carry out other key parts of their life cycles, so that resource managers can successfully protect them,” Hueter said in the release. “We have placed satellite-linked tracking tags on numerous whale sharks at a major feeding aggregation off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in the past decade, but it’s rarer that we can find and tag these huge fish off Florida’s Gulf Coast.”

The release from Mote said that whale sharks, which can be identified by their massive size of up to 45 feet and polka dot coloration, intermittently visit the coastal waters of southwest Florida. They tend to filter-feed on localized blooms of plankton or fish eggs, the release said.

“It’s exciting that we are hearing reports of five whale sharks in one area, because it suggests they might be feeding on something in a special spot,” Hueter said in a release from the laboratory.

The satellite tag would trail behind the shark’s dorsal fin and when the shark hits the surface, the tag would transmit its location data.

For any whale shark sightings, Mote is asking citizens to call Hueter at Mote’s Center for Shark Research at 941-302-0976 within 24 hours of the sighting. When calling, be ready to note how many sharks were spotted, the date, time, location and if possible, the exact GPS coordinates.