Whale Shark Spotted Off Ocean Marina Yacht Club

[mcyachty]

I just want to share this with you.

We spotted a whale shark off the marina this afternoon. Not a really big one, but amazing to see.

[LennyW]

So share then.....where's the pics????

[FarangBuddha]

Five years or so ago, my diving club was doing a dive off Leam Mae Pim (south of Rayong) and spotted and swam with a whale shark. So they are around the area and are spotted on occasion.

[sharecropper]

That is amazing. I hope someone DID manage to get a photo.

I swam with them off Ningaloo Reef a few years ago and it was an incredible experience.

Do any of the dive shops locally log "sightings" such as these?

About three years ago I saw a dolphin from my condo. My missus still thinks I was making it up even though I had my binoclulars trained on it. It was just off Jomtien Beach.

[neverdie]

That is amazing. I hope someone DID manage to get a photo.

I swam with them off Ningaloo Reef a few years ago and it was an incredible experience.

Do any of the dive shops locally log "sightings" such as these?

About three years ago I saw a dolphin from my condo. My missus still thinks I was making it up even though I had my binoclulars trained on it. It was just off Jomtien Beach.

Yeah I snorkled off Ningaloo Reef a few years ago too and got rounded up by a different kind of shark

[sharecropper]

That is amazing. I hope someone DID manage to get a photo.

I swam with them off Ningaloo Reef a few years ago and it was an incredible experience.

Do any of the dive shops locally log "sightings" such as these?

About three years ago I saw a dolphin from my condo. My missus still thinks I was making it up even though I had my binoclulars trained on it. It was just off Jomtien Beach.

Yeah I snorkled off Ningaloo Reef a few years ago too and got rounded up by a different kind of shark

Hey, don't worry, those white tips never bite!

What was it?

[neverdie]

It was a good sized bull shark, according to another more experienced diver I was with. He wanted out of the water & I nearly walked onto of him to get out ahead of him.

I dont know much about sharks but they have big teeth

[sharecropper]

It was a good sized bull shark, according to another more experienced diver I was with. He wanted out of the water & I nearly walked onto of him to get out ahead of him.

I dont know much about sharks but they have big teeth

They are nasty - The bull shark is well known for its unpredictable, often aggressive behavior. Since bull sharks often dwell in shallow waters, they may be more dangerous to humans than any other species of shark,[1] and, along with tiger sharks and great white sharks, are among the three shark species most likely to attack humans.[2]

My worst on a dive was a very large Bronze Whaler. The Great White Sharks I saw from a dive cage in South Africa, whilst exciting, don't really count.

Any regular divers can tell us what sharks we commonly get in Pattaya waters? I have seen Bamboo sharks and small black and white tips, and we also now have a Whale Shark sighting.

[Nignoy]

Before the concrete invasion, pattaya bay used to be a common habitat for whale sharks and dolphins,used to be on old bamboo jetty where you could buy fish to handfeed the dolphins,the stretch of coast from jomtien round to rayong was a game fishers paradise , we used to catch quality sailfish and juvenile marlin on light tackle, when I find where my wife has stored my black and white photo,s of pattaya fishing I will publish a few,and as far as your bull shark, it loves murky shallow waters will eat anything, has adapted well to coastal canal developments, here on the gold and sunshine coast in queensland there have been a few deaths from bullshark attack,bullsharks regularly swim 30kms up the brisbane river to the fresh waterlagoon at collegers crossing, was amazed to see warning signs for shark and stonefish so far in land

[sharecropper]

Before the concrete invasion, pattaya bay used to be a common habitat for whale sharks and dolphins,used to be on old bamboo jetty where you could buy fish to handfeed the dolphins,the stretch of coast from jomtien round to rayong was a game fishers paradise , we used to catch quality sailfish and juvenile marlin on light tackle, when I find where my wife has stored my black and white photo,s of pattaya fishing I will publish a few,and as far as your bull shark, it loves murky shallow waters will eat anything, has adapted well to coastal canal developments, here on the gold and sunshine coast in queensland there have been a few deaths from bullshark attack,bullsharks regularly swim 30kms up the brisbane river to the fresh waterlagoon at collegers crossing, was amazed to see warning signs for shark and stonefish so far in land

Great post Nignoy. Would love to see the photos. Your description of old Pattaya and Jomtien, and the fishing here, are amazing.

[neverdie]

It was a good sized bull shark, according to another more experienced diver I was with. He wanted out of the water & I nearly walked onto of him to get out ahead of him.

I dont know much about sharks but they have big teeth

They are nasty - The bull shark is well known for its unpredictable, often aggressive behavior. Since bull sharks often dwell in shallow waters, they may be more dangerous to humans than any other species of shark,[1] and, along with tiger sharks and great white sharks, are among the three shark species most likely to attack humans.[2]

My worst on a dive was a very large Bronze Whaler. The Great White Sharks I saw from a dive cage in South Africa, whilst exciting, don't really count.

Any regular divers can tell us what sharks we commonly get in Pattaya waters? I have seen Bamboo sharks and small black and white tips, and we also now have a Whale Shark sighting.

Ohh really, thanks for the info, as I say I was only going off what I was been told & the shark looked really freaky to me . I dont really know much about them but having surfed alot had seen the odd fin and that but didnt like getting face to face with the baaaastards.

[mcyachty]

Hi all,

I am sorry to disappoint, but no pics. The water is too murky due to the onshore winds we have had. It is a shame.

Regards to Bull Sharks, I was at the Cruising Yacht Club for 8 years up until January this year. In my 20 years managing marinas arond Sydney Harbour, I slowly saw the water quality improve. Commercial fishing was banned about 4 years ago, which resulted in an abundane of fish life. Whales began to enter the harbour regularly when migrating from the southern waters up to the Great Barrier Reef every May to July, and then back from August to October. At times seen right up under the harbour bridge.

There is a little problem with this. Because of the increase of fish, they also bring with them their preditors. Sharks. We had to put up signs warning all the guys that swim to clean the hulls of their boats. I have seen diver literally fly out of the water as Bull Sharks, as Sharecropper noted, lurk around wharves and marinas. The navy had a diver loose limbs from a Bull Shark. They are very territorial.

In saying this, nature is beautiful and amazing thing. As marina operators, we must do all we can to clean up our areas, and ensure this remains for a long time. The marina industry in the USA, Europe, and specifically Australia, leads the way with programs such as the Clean Marinas program initiated by the Marina Industry Association of NSW. Lets see what we can do to preserve this beautiful country too.

My rant is over.