By Rupi Mangat

Published: Nation Saturday magazine 19 April 2025

Legend has it that God was so impressed with the gentleness of the mighty wanderer of the oceans, that he threw fistful of coins on its back – hence the Kiswahili name for it –Papa shilling which loosely translates to “Shark covered in silver coins.”

I arrive in time to catch the whale shark boat in search of the world’s biggest fish – the whale shark. It’s super-hot being March with the morning tide coming in. Volker Bassen, operator of the Whale Shark Adventures and co-founder of the East African Whale Shark Trust is at the helm with his crew of professional underwater video/photographers and dive masters. 

There’s excitement on board for the whale shark is no ordinary shark. Despite being humongous – it can reach lengths of 60 feet and weigh as much as 36.000 kilograms – it’s so gentle that you can swim alongside it. Being a shark, it does have jaws but the teeth are tiny and harmless. Instead this giant of the seas is a filter feeder using its mouth to draw in water and filter out plankton and small fish.

Further into the ocean, the wind picks up, the waves gain momentum. The sky melds with the sea in shades of blue. The underwater world holds magic that awes the mere human on the boat. A pod of bottlenose dolphins in supreme grace slip in and out of the ocean, silvery grey against the dark blue. After a few minutes of curious playfulness around the boat, the dolphins vanish into their world.

There’s still no sighting of the whale shark. On my first whale shark adventure with Bassen in 2008, the big fish had appeared within moments of us reaching the reef.  We reach a patch of the ocean that’s calm and jade green. Heads begin to bob in and out of the water. We’re in the company of the green turtles – the ancient mariners of the sea that have outlived the dinosaur. Being reptiles, they need air to breathe and pop their heads out of water for a few seconds. Joana Hancock of the Olive Ridley Project (the Olive Ridley is the most abundant of the turtles species found in all the world’s oceans i.e. Indian, Pacific and the Atlantic) later tells me that these are resident green turtles – for now until they migrate further into the endless ocean. In one of nature’s most amazing feats, the female returns to the beach she was born on to lay her eggs.

It’s nearing noon and still no big fish. Despite its gigantic size, you would think it’s easy to spot the whale shark. But this once abundant shark faces increasing collisions by the ocean liners, maimed by the propellers or caught in the massive seine purse nets in the fishing industry.  

All the goggle-eyed snorkelers know that there is the odd day that the whale shark will elude all, for it is one of the most elusive creature on the planet. They jump into the water to swim with the turtles and be fascinated by the rich colours of the coral reef.  Humans being warm-blooded mammals return on board having had their share of fun while the cold-blooded reptiles remain in the sea. On board there’s fresh fruits awaiting – and a surprise.

‘Mzee Pombe’ is a fixture by the reef which at low tide reveals a sandbar. Having paddled on his surf board with a cooler-box full of cold beers and soft drinks, his floating bar is an instant attraction and soon everybody has a drink in the hand.

It’s the last sail day of the season for the whale shark as it continues its swim in its constant search of food like the fish and coral spawn and the plankton blooms. There’s still so much we do not know about the ethereal Papa shilling that researchers like the EAWST team is dedicated to finding out to ensure the survival of the world’s biggest fish.

Swim with the Whale Shark

Join EAWST on a sail day in search of the whale sharks, turtles. dolphins and humpback whales. 

The whale sharks arrive in Diani-Kenya around mid-December until mid of March as they continue with their migration on routes unknown and reappear a year later.

“You can never tell where they are going,” says Bassen. “It’s a very mysterious fish.

EAWST tagged 22 whale sharks between 2007 and 2010. One swam to Mozambique, one to Djibouti and one towards Australia.Due to lack of funding, the project stopped. However EAWST operates microlight spotter aircraftswhen the whale sharks and humpback whales are around to monitor their movements.

Note: the humpback whale season starts mid-July until end of September.

EAWST has also started turtle counts with Joana Hancock of the Olive Ridley Project: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CPY92bCp7/?mibextid=wwXIfr