In 2014, researchers Rossana Maguiño Napurí and Alejandra Mendoza Pfennig confirmed that the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), Known as “the largest fish in the world”, it roamed the sea of Peru. Before that, there were only a few reports of sightings made by fishermen from the Tumbes and Piura regions, in the north of the South American country.
In these fishing areas there was a myth that “the shark eats people”, which generated attacks on the species for many years, from pouring oil on them to hunting them to sell their fins, although without much success because having a very thick skin makes its extraction and commercialization difficult.
The myth was broken when fishermen observed female scientists swimming alongside whale sharks without being attacked, showing that it was possible to have a peaceful coexistence between the species and men of the sea.
The fishermen became allies of the researchers to discover if there was an aggregation (group) of this species in Peru, thus beginning the whale shark project, Because until that moment these giants had not been studied in Peru.
At the moment, Local fishermen from Canoas de Punta Sal, in the Tumbes region promote marine tourism: a tour of the waters where the enormous and gentle fish swims and, if possible, a chance encounter with the species. This tourism project was even the subject of a scientific article published in 2022: “Tourism and conservation of the whale shark through citizen science.”
Next, we present three keys to learn more about this species and the project in which the fishermen participate.
1. Shark characteristics
Whale sharks can reach 20 meters in length and live between 100 and 130 years. They were formerly confused with blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) due to its large size. The differences between both species are in physiology: sharks are fish that breathe through their gills and whales are aquatic mammals that have lungs and must come to the surface to breathe.
Another characteristic of whale sharks is that they are filter feeders that consume only zooplankton, coral eggs and phytoplankton.
The most impressive thing about this species is that it has the ability to self-fertilize. “That is, after an encounter with a male, it is able to save the sperm and select the appropriate mating season according to favorable factors: availability of food and ideal environmental conditions,” explains fisheries engineer Alejandra Mendoza.
Until now, it is not known how long their gestation process lasts and where they give birth. What is known is that they are placental viviparous, that is, the individuals emerge fully developed from the mother’s womb.
2. Scientific discovery
The EcoOceánica organization began the whale shark project, led by researchers Maguiño and Mendoza and advised by scientist Dení Ramírez, who was already carrying out research with this species in Mexico.
In the first year of work, the scientists identified six whale sharks and discovered the sighting seasons, which range from September to December on the beaches of Tumbes and Piura. However, the results were still few and funding limited. In 2017 they had the highest number of sightings with 100 individuals identified.
That year, scientists confirmed the existence of an aggregation of whale sharks in the juvenile stage, between 12 and 20 years old. “If we compare it with the life of a person, we would be talking about adolescents in reference to youth,” explains Rossana Maguiño.
Two years later, in 2019, the discovery was published in the study “Northern Peru becomes a new aggregation area for whale sharks.” The researchers Mendoza and Maguiño presented it at the First Latin American Congress of Sharks, Rays and Chimeras and the VIII National Symposium on Sharks and Rays in Mexico.
Until 2023, in almost ten years of work, scientists have already recorded 212 whale sharks in that region of Peru.
3. Protection of the species
On the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) The whale shark is listed as Endangered. its main threat being bycatch.
In 2017, the Ministry of Production of Peru issued a ministerial resolution that prohibits the extraction of whale sharks in marine waters of Peruvian jurisdiction, as well as their landing, transportation, retention, transformation and commercialization.
“Shark fishing is prohibited and we respect the animal. We live with them and we respect each other, we learned to live in harmony,” says diver Juan Antonio Apolo Cornejo, who has been collaborating with scientists for seven years to protect the immense fish.
Juan, along with his twin brother Carlos Apolo Cornejo, supports the work of the researchers by reporting sightings of the species and raises awareness among other fishermen to maintain peaceful coexistence with the animal.
“They explained to us that it was not like other sharks, that it did not use its teeth but rather ate phytoplankton. Now we give the shark its place. We bathe with him a meter away. The golden rule was not to touch the shark and give it its space,” says diver Antonio Apolo.
One of the recent achievements of the scientific project is the creation of the Mar de Grau National Reserve, an area of 115,675 hectares of sea in front of the departments of Piura and Tumbes that is home to 75% of the marine species that exist in the Peruvian sea, including whale sharks.