Swimming with Whale Sharks at the Georgia Aquarium
Hi All,
I saw this article about swimming with the Whale Sharks at the Georgia Aguarium. Since most of our guest want to be swimming with the dolphins in Florida and other locations, maybe they might enjoy an experience like this. I would definitely do this. The Georgia Aquarium offers two different program with the Whale Sharks, Snorkeling with them, for $190 per person, or scuba diving with them, for $290 per person. To see the Georgia Aquarium FAQ page about this program, Click Here.
This story gives you the pros and cons of the program, so you need to decide if this is right for you.
The news story reads:
Vikas Chinnan stood over a tank at the world’s largest aquarium, peering down at the world’s largest fish species. He was wondering what it would be like to jump in and frolic beside the whale sharks.
The creature approached, eerily quiet. It was longer than a Ford Expedition, impossibly elegant as it banked into a turn at the tank’s edge, flexing its gray, massive, mottled form into a parabola of living flesh.
Swimming with sharks Shark attacks cause mania in Ixtapa area”Oh man,” muttered Chinnan, 32, one of eight divers who had paid $290 for the privilege. “I hope they fill up our [air] tanks, because I’m going to be breathing hard.”
Whale sharks are as harmless as they are imposing, preferring plankton to people. But with the Georgia Aquarium launching its “Swim With Gentle Giants” program this month — allowing a dozen swimmers and divers per day to enter the sharks’ habitat — marine experts fear it is the humans who could pose a threat. < Read More>
I think this program would be cool to try and hopefully the aquarium is educating the participants that enjoy this program about the whales and also taking care of the animals they have.
What do you think about this swimming with the whale shark program?
God Bless,
John
June 19th, 2008 at 9:42 am
I recently went diving in Tulum, Mexico and there are Whale Shark trips there. Unfortunately I arrived a couple of months too early to take advantage of it, but I would absolutely love to try it. I saw some pictures, I think Whale Sharks are the biggest fish on earth?
June 19th, 2008 at 10:58 am
I recommend the whale shark tours offered near Cancun in their natural environment, instead of in a tank. Somehow doing this in a tank seems to be not right in any number of ways, but maybe that’s just me. There’s a lot of good info at the official swim with whale sharks site as well:
http://www.swimwithwhalesharks.com
Happy Travels,
Seth Pope
June 27th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Hi Guys,
Wow, I did not know Whale Shark swimming would be so big. Next time I am in Mexico, I need to try this.
God Bless,
John
July 16th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
June 29th 2008
My son and I went swimming with the whale sharks today. Yes, it is very cool. They are so much bigger inside the tank. They really do swim right up to you and under you. We were quite impressed.
The down side is that they make you wear heavy, awkward equipment that you don’t need. Besides the fins and snorkel and mask, you will have a tank of compressed air strapped to the front of you. This makes it difficult to move around and limits your visibility. And, once they put the tank on you, they tell you that you can use your snorkel if you wish???? I think the tank is more of a floatation device. As far as a ridged line of swimmers, I did not see this so much. I just felt as though we were snorkeling with the master divers in the tank with us. The sharks tend to swim along the edge of the tank and so they do keep you off the sides, and for good reason. These guys are really big.
When a shark swims up to you, you have to do “the dead man’s float” to stay really still. However, they tell you they will tell you when one is coming, but even though you are swimming on the surface, you can not hear the dive master. There where many times when I would look beside me and, there was a whale shark.
It is, however, a very worthwhile experience. At $190 a pop we will not be doing it again, but I would have to say that is was money well spent.
When you are done, they have a DVD of your swim for $50. I was not impressed with this, it was more a video of the tank than the swimmers. I was hoping they would have regular photos, but they didn’t.
I hope this helps anyone who is planning on going.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Hi Bea,
Its great that swimming with the marine life and whale shark was a fun experience. Your experience makes me want to try it, hopefully soon.
God Bless,
John
http://www.dolphinworld.org