MANATEE COUNTY, FL (WWSB) - There's been a rare sighting off the coast of Anna Maria Island. Five giant whale sharks swam up next to a fishing boat about forty miles off the coast of AMI. The encounter was caught on camera.
Whale sharks are the world's largest fish, and while they have been spotted in the gulf before, scientists at Mote Marine say their visits to waters around here are far and few between.
Jake Campoamor and his family were the lucky ones.
"One of them kind of came towards us," Campoamor described. "That was the one that circled the boat. The other three kind of parted ways."
For Campoamor and his family, it was a once in a lifetime experience.
"My father has been going out there for 40 years and has never seen something like that," Campoamor said.
Researchers say whale shark sightings are extremely rare here on the Suncoast.
"Ive been at Mote since 1988, and I think I've seen whale sharks off our coast three times," Dr. Bob Hueter, senior scientist at Mote Marine said.
Seeing a whale shark is extremely rare, especially in this part of the world.
According to Dr. Hueter, the creatures are vulnerable and even said to be endangered in some areas.
"Very little is known about this particular area," Dr. Hueter says. "...why they're here, what they're doing when they're coming by here..."
That's why Mote Marine scientists want to put trackers on the animals.
However, since Campoamor and his family's sighting is about five days old, Dr. Hueter says these sharks could be 100 miles away by now.
His team is looking for a more recent sighting.
"We are really looking for help from the fishing and boating community for a sighting in the last 12-24 hours and get that information to us as soon as possible," Dr. Heuter said.
If you spot one of these whale sharks, call Mote at 941-302-0976.
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