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Saleh Bay Whale Sharks

Saleh Bay in Sumbawa is a popular hotspot for divers and snorkellers to visit hoping to see the biggest fish in the world – the whale shark.

Diver and feeding whale shark, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Pook and the whale shark, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

Saleh Bay is a huge body of water which feels like the open ocean. Deep into the bay are floating fishermen’s platforms, known as bagans, which attract whale sharks hoping for a free meal.

Whale sharks are big. Really big. The whale sharks that visit the bagans are 3 to 4 metres big, typically, and these are only juvenile whale sharks. The adults can reach 12 metres long and the biggest ever recorded whale shark was 18 metres long.

Whale shark, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Whale shark, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

Several Komodo liveaboards have added Saleh Bay to their Komodo National Park itineraries – look for Sumbawa or Saleh Bay on their trip itineraries). If you check the map, you’ll see it’s quite far outside the usual Komodo dive area so usually involves sailing overnight there and back.

Day boats also come from Bima, Lombok as far as Labuan Bajo for divers and snorkellers to see the whale sharks. You can compare and book whale shark tours online.

Sunlight on a whale shark, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Sunlight on a whale shark, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

The whale sharks approach the boats, moving near the surface at what seems a slow pace but is actually way too fast for a human to keep up with.

Whale shark next to fisherman's boat, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Whale shark next to fisherman’s boat, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

You can see the size of the whale shark compared to the size of the boat. The local fishermen throw cups of water into the sea as the splashing attracts the whale sharks.

Whale shark filter feeding on the surface, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Whale shark filter feeding on the surface, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

The whale shark filters water through its huge mouth and out through its gills, hoovering all the plankton and tiny bits of fish bait for its food.

Whale shark under the fishing platform feeding, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Whale shark under the fishing platform feeding, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

Underneath the fishermen’s floating platform, called a bagan, the whale sharks come in to hoover the fishermen’s nets and the surrounding waters for a free meal.

Whale shark feeding with star markings, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Whale shark feeding, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

The whale sharks pull in a tremendous amount of water, their gills rippling as they filter the water for food. Each whale shark has its own unique set of markings that looks like stars across the night sky.

Bagan (Fishing Platform) at Kwatisore, Cendrawasih Bay, Indonesia
Bagan (Fishing Platform) at Kwatisore, Cendrawasih Bay, Indonesia, August 2012 © chris@divehappy.com

The bagans stay anchored in place and also have basic shelter for the fishermen to get out of the sun (and rain). The bagan pictured here is from a liveaboard to Cenderawasih Bay, but this is what they look like in Saleh Bay too. There are also bagans in Triton Bay, which is another, very remote, location to see whale sharks.

Whale shark feeding underwater, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Whale shark doing the slurp, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

While the whale shark is feeding, it’s not really thinking about anything else. It’s just focused on slurping down as much as water as possible to find its food.

Pook and the feeding whale shark, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Pook and the feeding whale shark, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

Divers can carefully approach the whale sharks which are not bothered by humans and are not interested in them as food. Still have to be careful not to get too close.

Whale shark under the dive boat, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Whale shark under the dive boat, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

The whale sharks simply don’t care about divers because they are much bigger – even the juvenile whale sharks are at least three to four metres long. They simply go their own way and everyone else needs to get out the way or risk being hit by an aquatic freight train.

Two whale sharks feeding, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Two whale sharks feeding, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

Whale sharks also don’t hang back when there’s already a whale shark at the platform. We had three together at one point, with two of the whale sharks hanging round together taking turns to feed.

Whale shark approaching, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Whale shark approaching, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

The sheer size of the whale sharks makes it an awesome experience to see them close. It’s important to stay aware of where they are at all time and to give them space. Touching them is an absolute no-no, and you need to watch out for the movement of their huge tails.

Whale shark silhouette, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
Whale shark silhouette, Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, August 2024 © chris@divehappy.com

Being able to be in the water with whale sharks is nothing short of spectacular, usually as the whale sharks will circle around the platform and return over and over again to feed, so seeing them is not just a brief fly-by. That said, it’s important to remember no one can guarantee they’ll be there – so while it’s a high probability, it still needs a little bit of luck.

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