Whale Shark Tracking

Here's something for the scuba enthusiasts out there from ECOCEAN: the Whale Shark Photo-identification Library. Through the clever of a pattern-differentiation algorithm used by astronomers, ocean scientists can identify individuals of whale shark populations. Divers lucky enough to swim with these fishies snap a picture on the left flank of the shark, just above the pectoral fin. Make sure you are level and perpendicular to the shark. Send your photo off to ECOCEAN, where a scientist will crop the image, run it through some software, and compare it to other patterns already in the library. From their website: "The information you submit will be used in mark-recapture studies to help with the global conservation of this threatened species."