‘What is it doing here?’ Whale shark strays 40km from ocean up Far Northern river

A whale shark that has strayed more than 40km from the ocean has wowed Far Northern fishers, and could be a world first. WATCH THE VIDEO

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A WHALE shark that has strayed more than 40km from the ocean has wowed Far Northern fishers, and could be a world first.

The gentle giant, estimated to be about 6m long, has spent more than a week swimming along the Hey River, south of Weipa.

The filter-feeding shark was first spotted a week ago by locals, who initially thought it was a large sawfish.

However Sportfisher Hire Boats Weipa operator Josh Lyon said word quickly spread through the local fishing community that the animal, whose enormous tail and wide head came up clearly on his fishfinder, was an oceanic whale shark.

“It’s been in the same area, roughly for about three days running,” he said.

“I don’t understand what it’s up to.

“It seems to be stuck here, but it looks happy and healthy, despite the water being so murky.”

Whale sharks, the largest of all fishes, are pelagic species that are normally found in offshore waters in both tropical and warm temperate waters across the world.

Growing to a maximum size of 10m, they are known to aggregate at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, and along the Great Barrier Reef.

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The slow-moving shark feeds on small crustaceans, squid and small fish using filtering screens on its gills.

Mr Lyon believed the animal was lost.

“I’ve lived in Weipa for 17 years, and never seen a whale shark in a river before,” he said.

“Given the amount of crocs in the river, I don’t think getting in the water with it would be the best idea.”

CSIRO whale shark researcher Dr Richard Pillans, who was made aware of the Weipa whale shark last week, believed it could be a world first.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

“It’s certainly the first time, to my knowledge, that a whale shark has been found that far upstream, anywhere in the world.

“It’s 40km from the mouth of the Hey River, up a really narrow creek.

“Whale sharks are an oceanic animal that generally prefer open ocean waters, and normally close to the coast — certainly not in estuaries or river systems, as is the case in Weipa.”

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He suggested the shark may either be lost or sick.

“It’s not trapped, because there’s relatively deep water where it is, so it could get out, in theory,” he said.

“But it’s a big animal, so it may could be trapped because it’s made a wrong turn and it got confused.

“Or it could be confused: often animals like this end up in places like that, because they’re not functioning properly, and it’s taken a wrong turn.”

The whale shark will be monitored by fishers and Dr Pillans over the coming days.

Dr Pillans, who has tagged the animals at Ningaloo Reef, suggested the river’s resident crocodiles may be steering clear of the shark, mainly because of its sheer size.

“If it’s stuck there for long enough, the crocs could potentially become interested in it,” he said.

“But it would have to be a pretty large croc to successfully have a crack at it.

“Once whale sharks get to that size, they tend to have very few natural predators — probably only orcas and great white sharks.

“The biggest threat to whale sharks, though, is boat strike and targeted fishing.”

Originally published as ‘What is it doing here?’ Whale shark strays 40km from ocean up Far Northern river