Madison Cabrera
Mr. Skipper
Encounters 8
2-21-24
Guardians of the Sea:
The Importance of Safeguarding Whale Sharks
Introduction
There are many species in the ocean but some make bigger contributions to keeping the balance. When a very essential organism dies, it has an impact on the environment, some for good and others for bad. Our different environments need to keep the balance because one can rely on others and vice versa. In this case, the aquatic environment would be in danger if Whale Sharks go extinct because they regulate the plankton levels and prevent them from being too high, which can be devasting for the environment. Their characteristics sometimes help them to survive. Their large size can scare other predators away which is a good shield when they are exposed near the surface. Whale Sharks do more for our oceans than we could ever imagine and almost never cause problems. They deserve to be saved because of the many qualities that make them wonderfully unique and because they are essential to certain environments. They have a special ability to get rid of negative organisms that hurt some food chains and other aquatic environments, which is also a good thing for them because at the same time, they gain energy.
Description of Whale Sharks
Whale Sharks have many unique characteristics that make them special in their own way. Which also makes it easy to tell apart, because, like a human fingerprint, they have their own characteristics that makes them unique. Whale Sharks can be easily mistaken for other shark species, but they can be identified by their large size. Worldwide, whale sharks are the "largest fish in the world” they can seem scary if someone ever comes across one of them because of their large size, even though it is not very likely to ever see one. Whale sharks can grow up to 40 feet long and weigh 20,000 pounds which can be beneficial when these "gentle" animals are helping other organisms by removing bacteria when they eat it. Whale Sharks are large species who as mentioned earlier, need tons of food to have enough, which is not an issue when the goal is to get rid of certain organisms (Whale Sharks: Rhincodon typus). They can travel long distances despite their large size and could get confused to scientist if they were all alike (Whale Sharks). Due to the fact that they have a lot of positive qualities, they don't have many predators which helps them stay alive, like their large size that scares them away. Whale Sharks are categorized as Mammals which helps them differ from fishes, when being more specific and scientific. (“Why are whales not grouped in the fishes?”). They are usually also recognized by the name Rhincodon typus in the scientific world (Whale Sharks: Rhincodon typus). Their characteristics can usually be helpful to most scientists when they are trying to track them down for more observations. They do this to get more information into detail to about their bodies, inner systems etc to know what can be done to help these wonderful creatures. With their massive size, unique patterns, and their gentle movements, these creatures are just another masterpiece of the ocean's art who deserve a brighter future.
Habitat
The oceans are vast but not everywhere is sustainable for certain species, which is why Whale Sharks usually “ live in tropical climates and warm waters". It is more dependable to find Whale Sharks around Australia because of the many times they have been seen but they can also occasionally be found near India, the Maldives, South Africa, Belize, Mexico, the Galapagos Islands, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia (Whale Shark Rhincodon typus). This species prefers to be in deeper waters "around 150 feet below the surface" which is why they like to be around “both deep and shallow coastal waters and the lagoons of coral atolls and reef’s (Whale Shark Rhincodon typus). Lagoons, reefs, and coral atolls are considered beautiful to the human eye because of their features and also it's a good habitat for whale sharks for its stability and sources of energy. Plankton can be mostly found in these locations' upper parts, which is why sometimes whale sharks come to the surface. To the present day, the ocean is not in danger but if Whale Sharks go extinct, it could create chaos (“Why Are Whale Sharks Endangered?). Whale Sharks play a big role in keeping the balance between many organisms to prevent overpopulation or limited resources so they are essential to keep many habitats stable. It is easy for Whale Sharks to adapt to the ocean because their appearance can help them stay safe but there are many other factors that contribute to the fact that Whale Sharks survive better in the warm parts of the ocean.
Food
When referring to the gentle giants of the ocean, in other words, whale sharks, it can get tricky to guess what they eat because of their looks. Despite their huge size, these animals mostly feed on plankton, krill, and small fish (Sexton). Since whale sharks can't chew or bite, they depend on their tiny thousands of teeth. This allows them to eat "shrimp fish and plankton by using its modified gill rakers as a suction filter" (Whale Sharks Fact Sheets). When these species are trying to gain their energy, "they swim through the water with their mouths open and suck out nutrients and plankton that are suspended in the water” (“Whale Sharks: Rhincodon Typus”). This unique feeding mechanism allows them to eat a good amount of food in one bite. Being the biggest shark in the world, they mostly swim alone but when they eat, "large numbers of whale sharks often gather in areas with abundant plankton food" (Whale Sharks). This diet is crucial for whale sharks because plankton is their primary source of food. Whale sharks need plenty to power their bulk of up to 90 pounds per day. These species travel large distances, making them release lots of energy that they need to replenish (Whale Sharks Fact Sheets). Because of their large size, whale sharks need a lot of nutrients, which they get from, their "favorite food". In conclusion, Whale Sharks have quite the appetite and rely on this diet which may surprise others but that's just the daily life of these magnificent animals that swim beneath the surface.
Issues
Magnificent creatures like whale sharks and other marine creatures face many issues and challenges threatening their life in the wild. There are many reasons why they become endangered, to where humans can sometimes be the leading cause. One of the main causes for Whale Sharks to be in this critical circumstance is their physical characteristics and habitat loss, humans, and climate change.
There are many occasions where, because of their large size, they get caught in fishnets by fishermen. Whale Sharks can be good targets for greedy fishermen due to the hefty price of their “fins, meat, skin, and oil” (Ahmad). This can greatly reduce their population in big numbers real quickly because there are not a lot of them which is a tragic event. Whale Sharks reproduce very slowly; they are “literally dying faster than they can reproduce” (“Why Are Whale Sharks Endangered?”). Specifically, Whale Sharks can give birth to 16 to 300 offspring from 5 months to 3 years, which can hurt the female but does not cause them much damage because of their remarkable healing abilities. This is one of their many qualities because as shown in deeper research, they can heal quickly. For example, if they get hurt due to human interaction, within 30 days, “ a large cut can heal up to 90%” (“Amazing New Facts about Whale Sharks”).
Additionally, Whale Sharks rely on a specific environment because they need certain nutrients to survive. Currently, their environment is being destroyed because of pollution and climate change; this causes them to be forced to search for food and shelter elsewhere, which can be challenging for them because they can only survive in warm waters, environments with coral reefs, and feeding grounds with plankton (“Whale Sharks: Rhincodon Typus”). This is a significant threat to their lives and becomes an issue when trying to reproduce for the purpose of repopulating because of the lack of nutrients. This situation is so severe that not even scientists can get an accurate and exact estimate of the global whale shark population (“Why Are Whale Sharks Endangered?”).
Preservation Plan
Taking all this into consideration, Whale Sharks deserve to be saved for the many contributions they bring to the ecosystems. If Whale Sharks go extinct, chaos would start and could negatively affect more than half of the ocean’s balance. As said before, Whale Sharks provide a long-term regulation of plankton levels in the ocean, so if these aren’t removed from the oceans’ crust, they would cause many problems of overpopulation and destruction of high-importance ecosystems. All this without mentioning the profit that will be lost. Whale Sharks are so unique that they provide meat, fish oil, etc., so if they disappear, a few business and profit earnings will be lost. Other factors that should be considered when debating whether it's worth it to save these species and/or improve preservation actions is that Whale Sharks have helped the ocean so much and are not even a danger to humans or other species when being careful. These animals are not carnivores and they aren't a danger at all. They rarely come to the surface and there's rarely a problem with them. Some actions that should start taking place to prevent the extinction of Whale Sharks, are to share awareness of the situation that they are in and also to limit the market when it comes to Whale Sharks. If sellers are not allowed to sell their meat, oil or other products, and they won't get enough money for it, there's a possibility they will stop killing Whale Sharks and not decrease their population as much. There is not a high cost for this to be done because it can always be fixed and it wouldn’t cause a negative effect on anything to take action to save these wonderful animals. Whale Sharks should be saved and they deserve to still live in the wild. In a long-term situation, it's convenient for other companies and industries to invest in the safeguarding of Whale Sharks because they help maintain other organisms and products that Whale Sharks protect, where companies can benefit off. Even though it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Whale Sharks go extinct, it could really cause a damage and it might take a long period of time to go back to stability. Because of greedy fishermen and the continuous loss of the environment, new conservation methods and more human awareness of this problem are critical to the survival of Whale Sharks. Even though scientists say that more human awareness is needed, they have not done anything to grow it or help the problem be heard. In conclusion, Whale Sharks are magnificent creatures that deserve our protection, by conserving their habitats and implementing fishing limitations, humans can define their future.
Work Cited
Ahmad, Yumna. “Why are Whale Sharks are Endangered.” SharksInfo.Com, 2024, sharksinfo.com/why-are-whale-sharks-are-endangered/.
“Amazing New Facts about Whale Sharks.” Echidna Walkabout, echidnawalkabout.com.au/amazing-new-facts-about-whale-sharks.
Sexton, Chrissy. “International Whale Shark Day: Protecting the gentle giants of the sea.” Earth.com, 2023, www.earth.com/news/.
“Whale Shark Fact Sheet.” PBS Nature, 23 April 2021 pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/whale-shark-fact-sheet/.
“Whale Shark (Rhincodon Typus).” Australian Government, 15 Oct 2021, dcceew.gov.au/environment/marine/marine-species/sharks/whale-shark.
“Whale Sharks: Rhincodon Typus.” Ocean Conservancy, 2023, oceanconservancy.org/wildlife-factsheets/whalesharks/.
“Whale Sharks.” World Wildlife, 2023, worldwildlife.org/species/whale-shark.
“Why Are Whale Sharks Endangered?” American Oceans, www.americanoceans.org/blog/why-are-whale-sharks-endangered/.
My Research Poem
We feel your pain
You swim and you swim and your journey don’t end
As much as you help they don’t seem to care
You feed on plankton, which is something people want to get rid of
With your million teeth, which is one of major advantages for eating tons in second
But when you eliminate it, it seems people want to eliminate you
There aren’t a lot of preservation plans out there
Some might say “We care for the Whales”
but say it without meaning
That's not what you are, you are the one who’s dreaming
Mistaken for regular whales everyday
Even though you are different in every way
Your unique spots, like stars in the sky
Like fingerprints or a detailed silverprint
Differ you from your own and make the difference
You dream and you dream but they don't stream
Being the largest fish in the ocean some might think you have all the attention
Instead is being slowly forgotten in the deep of the world
150 feet below the surface where you tend to be
By the scientific name given to you
Rhincodon typus, the broadest word in the world
The grace of a Rhincodon typus swimming in the ocean like a gentle ballerina gliding across the stage
Your soft movement is an unnoticeable miracle
Which we need to take care off
With the years passing by you fall behind, becoming extinct being the worst fear
Resulting in soft, slow disappearance but there might be hope
There's trust in the people who believe in the way to find the right way home
Where the cruelty of killing for products does not exist
Home, your environment where warm waters lay
But in the surface where you rarely appear
The only major predator is the human ambition
Your grace, in this case, your aura
Whose movement slowly and gently touches the ocean
With every action
No harm included, concluded with the interaction
The no damage you cause creates the wonder
why there's no immediate solution to your problems
Must be inevitable to ignore those issues
The kind heart that beholds in you
And you get treated with the dislike
Since the beginning, it was all a game unlike…..
To those monsters known as humans
Whose only goal is money
Kill to obtain, again and again
Remains to this day, they ignore the statistics
Then look at the characteristics of their green cold
We feel your pain
Your inevitable issues
That might someday bring you down drastically
Hoping for the best and stay in your rest
To not feel as much the pain that is carried away as time flies.