An Encounter with A Whale Shark In the Sapodilla Cayes

By Godsman Ellis

On Sunday 22 September, last month we took a boat from Punta Gorda to Cortez, Honduras. This was a first time experience for me.
The captain was Cuevas from Monkey River and other passengers were Jack Noghtingale from the Toledo Belize tourism Industry Association (BTIA), Evan Cayetano from the Belize Center for Environment Studies and Wil Heyman a Marine Biologist.
We headed out to Sapodilla Cayes, recently declared a Marine Reserve by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, from where we were to take a south turn to Cortez. The sea was at first choppy but as we passed the Barrier Reef the waves became rolling, though not rough. The waters were just blue and the skies clear.
A mild breeze kept the heat of the shining sun at a tolerable level. We drank water only once and after enjoying the pizza snack that Jach brought along.
Suddenly the Captain said in a calm way," Ova de lot a fish di feed".
He was more than right as far as we were concerned. There were thousands of them almost forming a solid mass and not more than 8 inches from the surface. We headed toward them while Wil and Jack excitedly let down their fishing lines but
before long they had gone deeper.
We circled the area a couple times but there was not one bite on the lines. We proceded on our course.
After travelling some ten minutes there was another school of fishes and this time even bigger. Again lines down and approach at reduced speed.
But this time Captain Cuevas said "Look" with excitement.
Some thirty feet from us he had sighted a WHALE SHARK.
As we approached it I had mixed feelings but the other passengers were better knowledgeable about its behavior than I. This gave me courage.
The creature was almost motionless, measuring about 20 feet and the head some 3 feet across. It was brown with white spots all over the visible part of its body. We made a few close passes and at one time I put my hand into the water and TOUCHED IT.
That was the high point of my experience. Having touched a 20 ft. whale shark in its natural habitat. Everyone else agreed with me.
The biologist remarked that he had made several trips to the area before purposely looking for whale sharks and this was his first time. Regretably this was not a scientific expedition.
The trip took three hours and oif course we spoke of nothing else for the rest of the way.


Godsman Ellis is a founder and immediate past president of the Belize Tourism Industry Association, and is president of the Belize Eco-Tourism Association. A leader in the Belizean movement for eco-cultural tourism and sustainable development,. Mr. Ellis owns and operates the Piache Hotel and Tours, located on a scenic hilltop in San Ignacio Town, in the Cayo District of Belize. He can be reached at piache.hot@btl.net

Return to the Belize Online Tourism and Investment Guide Home Page