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Whale Sharks: The Giants Of Ningaloo Reef

“Whale Sharks: The Giants Of Ningaloo Reef” is a unique book by Geoff Taylor that provides an amazing photographic and text document about the whale sharks of Western Australia

This is, in every sense, a magnificent book – a hefty, oversized hardback chock full of spectacular photographs as befits its subject matter, the biggest fish in the world: the whale shark. Weighing in at several tons and measuring up to a staggering 12 metres in length, whale sharks remain an enigma to even the most expert marine scientists. Little is known about them – where they come from, where they go, how they breed – or even how many of them are still in the oceans. What is known about them is due in no small part to the book’s author Geoff Taylor, an English doctor who emigrated to Western Australia in the 1970s. Dr Taylor heard about the mysterious creatures passing by Ningaloo Reef, a vast coral reef system half way up the West Coast, over a thousand miles away from Western Australia’s capital city Perth, itself officially the most remote capital city in the world. Taylor’s fascination for finding out more about the whale sharks led him to live in Exmouth, a tiny coastal town perched next to Ningaloo surrounded by thousands of desolate square miles of the outback.

Being so close to Ningaloo and able to observe its monthly changes, Taylor realised that the whale sharks’ arrival at the reef seemed to correspond with the coral’s annual spawning – the reef’s reproductive frenzy which leaves the water thick with secreted eggs and sperm. Despite their fearsome size, whale sharks eat only plankton, hoovering in huge quantities of water through toothless mouths the size of a sofa to feed – for them, the spawning is a gastronomic delight which draws them back year after year. This realisation is straightforward enough to recount, but less than twenty years ago it was still a completely unheard of theory – and sighting whale sharks around Exmouth’s coast was still a definitively rare event.

Once the connection was made between the coral spawning and the whale sharks’ migration, word quickly spread of whale shark sightings and the beginning of the 1990s saw a flurry of film makers for the likes of National Geographic heading for Western Australia to capture footage of these amazing creatures. Taylor himself was caught up in that first wave of documenting the whale sharks and his book is a visual testament to his success in doing so. Besides capturing spectacular photos and video footage, a program of tagging the sharks was also set in place to try and learn more about them.

That the text in “Whale Sharks” is as good as the truly double-take inducing photographs gives me particular pleasure. Too often a book that has great images is lessened by will-this-do text slung in around it. What’s often forgotten is that whilst images capture the attention, words are what stimulate the imagination – they provide the context and the passion of how these photos came to exist in the first place and, in recounting just how difficult it was to take photos of the whale shark in its natural habitat, provide a unique insight into man’s discovery, interaction and, some would argue, exploitation of these creatures.

Go to Exmouth now, 15 years on, and you’ll find a burgeoning whale shark industry – spotter planes go out every morning to locate the whale sharks and radio their position to boats full of eager snorkellers. So popular has swimming with whale sharks become that the Australian authorities have imposed thoughtful and strictly enforced limits on human encounters with them: no more than 8 people in the water at a time, no touching and no scuba diving around them. Even so, there are concerns about the whale sharks and the state of aquatic life in general around Exmouth.Taylor’s book indicates there has been a marked decline in the fish stocks around Ningaloo Reef in the last 20 years and he is distinctly ambivalent about the consequences of the publicity he helped bring to bear on the whale sharks. The sheer popularity of encounters with them seems to be damaging the marine environment and, of course, no one is quite sure what it is doing to the sharks. There is a lot of money being made around the whale sharks, but selling the message of looking after them and their habitat is in danger of being neglected. Taylor’s book captures the beauty of these unique creatures and also sounds a distinct warning about their future, all the more effective and convincing for being phrased with the calm, rational logic of a doctor.

While no longer in print, Whale Sharks is currently available second hand on Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com



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My Recent Dive Trips

  • February 2023: Similan Islands liveaboard, Thailand
  • December 2022: Raja Ampat liveaboard, Indonesia
  • December 2022: Similan Islands liveaboard, Thailand
  • August 2022: Komodo liveaboard, Indonesia
  • June 2022: USAT Liberty shipwreck, Bali, Indonesia
  • April 2022: Stonehenge, Koh Lipe, Thailand
  • March 2022: Manta Rays at Koh Bon, Thailand
  • January 2022: Richelieu Rock liveaboard, Thailand
  • March 2021: HTMS Chang and Alahambra Rock liveaboard, Thailand
  • February 2020: Similan Islands liveaboard, Thailand
  • December 2019: Raja Ampat liveaboard, Indonesia
  • October 2019: Malapascua, Philippines
  • June 2019: Sogod Bay, Philippines
  • April 2019: Tulamben, Bali
  • December 2018: Sogod Bay, Philippines
  • December 2018: Anilao, Philippines
  • October 2018: Moalboal, Philippines
  • October 2018: Malapascua, Philippines
  • July 2018: Tulamben, Bali
  • May 2018: Raja Ampat, Indonesia
  • April 2018: Sogod Bay, Philippines
  • May 2017: Apo Island and Dumaguete, Philippines
  • April 2017: Tubbataha Reef, Philippines
  • April 2017: Sogod Bay, Philippines
  • March 2017: Triton Bay, Indonesia
  • March 2017: Raja Ampat, Indonesia
  • September 2016: Tulamben, Bali at Alba Dive Resort
  • August 2016: Cenderawasih Bay on Damai 1
  • April 2016: Sogod Bay at Sogod Bay Scuba Resort
  • February 2016: Raja Ampat and Banda Islands on Damai 1
  • April 2015: Anilao at Crystal Dive Resort

My Less Recent Dive Trips

  • March 2015: Myanmar and Similan Islands on Thailand Aggressor
  • May 2013: Similan Islands on Thailand Aggressor
  • April 2013: Tubbataha Reef on Discovery Palawan
  • January 2013: Komodo, Indonesia on MSY Damai
  • August 2012: Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia
  • April 2012: Similan Islands and Southern Thailand liveaboard
  • January 2012: Similan Islands liveaboard, Thailand
  • August 2011: Hanifaru, Maldives
  • June 2011: Tubbataha Liveaboard Hans Christian Andersen
  • April 2011: Similan Islands and Southern Thailand liveaboard
  • April 2011: Carpe Vita Liveaboard, Maldives
  • March 2011: Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
  • December 2010: Menjangan, Bali
  • July 2010: Tofo, Mozambique
  • July 2010: Sardine Run, South Africa
  • May 2010: Sangalaki / Derawan, Tambora
  • March 2010: MV Flying Seahorse, Similan Islands
  • March 2010: MV Orion, Southern Maldives
  • January 2010: Big Blue Explorer, Palau
  • November 2009: MSY Damai, Banda Sea Liveaboard, Indonesia
  • October 2009: MSY Damai, Komodo Liveaboard, Indonesia
  • October 2009: MV Orion, Maldives Liveaboard
  • September 2009: MV Scubanet, Koh Losin, Thailand
  • May 2009: MSY Seahorse, Banda Sea liveaboard, Indonesia
  • March 2009: Sachika Liveaboard, Maldives
  • February 2009: Daytrips, Koh Lanta, Thailand
  • January 2009: MV Jazz, Burma (Myanmar) Liveaboard

Back In The Day Bragging Rights Dive Trips

  • November 2008: Borneo Explorer, Visayas Liveaboard
  • September 2008: S/Y Siren, Komodo Liveaboard
  • August 2008: Ocean Rover, Sulawesi Liveaboard
  • August 2008: NAD Lembeh Resort, Indonesia
  • June 2008: Koh Tao
  • March 2008: Maldives, Bandos Island
  • February 2008: MSY Seahorse, Raja Ampat Liveaboard
  • January 2008: MV Jazz, Burma Liveaboard
  • October 2007: Bali Dive Safari
  • September 2007: Davao, Philippines
  • July 2007: Great White Sharks, Rodney Fox Liveaboard
  • June 2007: Big Blue, Palau Liveaboard
  • May 2007: Whale Sharks at Exmouth, Australia
  • April 2007: Borneo Explorer, Tubbataha Reef Liveaboard
  • December 2006: Komodo Dancer, Komodo Liveaboard

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