OPEN WATER : WHALE SHARKS IN ISLA MUJERES (MEXICO, JULY 2024)

Our first time snorkeling and scuba diving in this part of Mexico. This year Peter was celebrating a very special birthday and I thought this would be a great gift for him to get to experience for the first time encounters with these beautiful marine creatures! Isla Mujeres and her visitors are blessed once a year with arguably the world’s most amazing opportunity to experience Whale Sharks in their natural habitat! During the summer months (June - September) hundreds of Whale Sharks gather just north of Isla Mujeres to take advantage of the plankton-rich waters and abundant fish spawning grounds created by the joining of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Know that these whale sharks are some of the biggest creatures in the deep, blue sea. They can grow up to 32 feet wide. Whale sharks are filter feeders and can neither bite nor chew. They can process more than 6,000 litres of water an hour through their gills. Various studies looking at vertebrae growth bands and measuring whale sharks in the wild have estimated their lifespans from ~80 years and up to ~130 years. The cyclical migration and habits of the whale sharks are still being studied around Isla Mujeres as it wasn’t all that long ago the phenomenon was discovered. The opportunity to experience the magnificence of the whale shark aggregation has only been around for 15 years. Parties dedicated to the creation of a tourist industry around these animals have worked to benefit and protect both man and animal through exposure, understanding, and respect. I want to thank our friend (and dive buddy) Christine Simon for organizing this wonderful trip with such a wonderful group of people. Hope everyone gets to enjoy the video. CHEERS! 🐳 🤿 ❤️