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A blog from Oceana's online editor:
This past weekend, as a part of Oceana’s ongoing expedition in the Gulf of Mexico, I went up in a four-seater plane for several days to try and spot whale sharks in southeastern Louisiana.
If we caught sight of one, we planned to radio to our boat, the Latitude, and let our scientists know where the sharks were so they could tag the giants. With their distinctive spotted pattern, whale sharks are the largest sharks in the sea, and as filter-feeders, they are completely harmless to humans.
Our team, working with scientists from the University of Southern Mississippi, hoped to tag whale sharks in order to monitor their movements and gain insight into the effects of the gulf oil disaster on their survival. Whale sharks were observed swimming in surface oil near the gushing wellhead earlier this year.
Unfortunately, the sharks proved elusive. While we did spot four whale sharks briefly from the plane, they dove too quickly for the scientists to track them. We mostly saw oil rigs, oil boom and more oil rigs.
Here’s Oceana marine scientist Elizabeth Wilson:
Elizabeth Wilson Oceana Whale Shark Tagging Operation Gulf Expedition from Oceana on Vimeo.
Check out Oceana's blog for daily updates, check out more videos and photos from the boat and join the more than 150,000 people who have take action with us to stop offshore drilling.
Written by Emily Fisher, online editor at Oceana.
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