Dibba divers in swim with the sea’s gentle giants

Whale sharks are seen at Dibba Rock, bringing divers ‘an impressive and fantastic adventure’. Courtesy Mathieu Pique

FUJAIRAH // Whale sharks came to play with divers off the coast of Dibba last week.

“This doesn’t happen every day. It’s always a big thing when we see a whale shark,” said Michela Colella, operations manager at Divers Down.

“We saw two on Thursday at around 12.30pm but it was only a short visit, not more than five minutes.

“On Friday, we hoped for the best and went at around 10am to the same diving site and that’s when we were visited by three big whale sharks that stayed for around 15 minutes. We saw them again at 1pm and 4pm.”

Ms Colella said four-metre-long gentle giants probably ventured to the area in search of food.

Natalie Sjostrom, an instructor at Divers Down, said the fish were intrigued by the bubbles from their diving gear. “I was teaching a diving course when I turned around and I saw a very big shark behind me. It was amazing ,and when I went back near the surface I saw the other two.

“They liked to be tickled by the bubbles, so they kept coming back. I saw one three weeks ago but it was a fast visit, not like this one. They stayed and enjoyed their time with us.”

Although harmless, their great size means even a slight brush with their tail could injure a diver. Adult whale sharks can grow as long as 14 metres and weigh about 30 tonnes.

Ms Sjostrom also said the fish occasionally appear during May to August.

“We usually see small-sized sharks such as the leopard, blacktip and guitar shark but to see a whale shark is considered rare and unique,” she said.

A video posted by Mathieu Pique showed the sharks swimming close to the divers.

Mr Pique was diving at six to eight metres when he first saw the sharks and took the opportunity to film them.

“There were two big shadows in the water, one surrounded by other small fish and the other was swimming alone,” said the 39-year-old Frenchman, who lives in Dubai. “They were swimming and enjoying it as much as we were. I have been diving for almost 15 years and this is the first time I’ve seen whale sharks. It was quite impressive and a fantastic adventure.

“They were moving smoothly and we all had the opportunity to see them more than once on that day.”