Whale Shark on Pattaya's NEAR Islands

[Ex-Aquanaut]

Around here, no one recalls in 15 years ever seeing a whale shark on Pattaya's Near Islands, but on Monday one made an appearance. Five meters long off Koh Larn

Pattaya Divers Revels in Rare Whale Shark Sighting | Aquanauts Dive Centre Pattaya Thailand PADI 5-Star CDC Career Development Center Scuba Diving

 

[Bowmouth]

The very dead whaleshark in the picture looks to me not longer than 3 meters.

 

[Ex-Aquanaut]

If you read the last graph of my blog post, I speculated the photo was not of the one form this week. Article was short and all in Thai. I expect to be getting some more info in the next day or two that will update the post. (Thai reporters looking into it for me now.)

 

[funrecdiver]

Hahaha... I also thought that "example photo" of a dead whale shark was not the best choice of stock fish photos..... assuming that is what it was (since they article did not say they hurt the beast).

 

[Ex-Aquanaut]

Added caption on my blog post photo to indicate photo came from Thai Rath and that there's some question about what shark it is.

 

[Bowmouth]

If you read the last graph of my blog post, I speculated the photo was not of the one form this week.

I know.
I did read all of it.

It's the wrong picture with the right article that made me reply...

 

[funrecdiver]

According to the original Thai article, they played with the whale shark and did not harm it (that is how I read it with my not perfect Thai reading). I think the photo is just a stock photo, but I could be wrong.

 

[Ex-Aquanaut]

Bad choice of stock photo by the newspaper, but had I chosen my own lovely whale shark swimming photo, I'd be catching the "that's the shark. that's not pattaya" flak. Better just to go with what the newspaper did, as I was simply blogging what they wrote.

 

[Arizona]

Figures, once I leave whale sharks begin showing up. Let's hope it is not the last sighting.

 

[funrecdiver]

Reading the article more carefully in Thai, the captain says he spotted the whale shark about 3.5 km off Pattaya Beach betweeen Pattaya Beach and Koh Laan. The stopped and hung out together around 40 minutes that the whale shark went on it's way, according to how I read the story.