Whale Sharks in Placencia, Belize!

August 2, 2018

Looking for an adventure worth bragging about? Let’s talk Whale Sharks! These creatures can be found at the Gladden Spit area just off the coast of Placencia, Belize. It is the largest fish in the sea, reaching lengths of 40 feet or more. The average lifespan in the wild is about 70 years and its size is 18 to 32.8 feet long with an average weight of 20.6 tons!

According to Patty Ramirez from Splash Dive Shop, Gladden Spit is one of the most popular areas where you can actually swim, dive and snorkel with the whale sharks. Gladden Spit is a spawning aggregation site for many different tropical fish species including cubera, mutton and dog snappers. This is what attracts the whale shark to the gladden spit. These whale sharks ingest the spawn as food. Gladden spit is twenty six miles east and only one hour and thirty minutes boat ride from Placencia.

Preferring warm waters like Belize, whale sharks populate all tropical seas, but our location is the only place in the world where whale sharks congregate in large numbers near the surface as they rise to feed. The Belize Barrier Reef acts as a nursery for thousands of marine species.

Take a chance to become one with the underworld, as you never know who you’ll meet! This once in a lifetime opportunity is yours… come check this off your bucket list! And remember to stay safe, have fun and always be sure to minimize your carbon footprint when exploring Belize.