WEBVTT 00:02.510 --> 00:05.000 >> NARRATOR: At up to 40 feet long 00:05.000 --> 00:07.030 and weighing several tons, 00:07.030 --> 00:11.810 they are one of the most spectacular sights in the sea. 00:11.810 --> 00:14.330 >> There are 28,000 species of fish. 00:14.330 --> 00:16.000 About 400 of them we call sharks, 00:16.000 --> 00:18.060 and the largest of those is the whale shark. 00:18.060 --> 00:19.750 It's the largest of all fish. 00:19.750 --> 00:21.270 An average whale shark is twice the size 00:21.270 --> 00:23.270 of the largest great white shark. 00:23.270 --> 00:24.870 So you're really talking about an animal 00:24.870 --> 00:29.630 that is a leap and bound bigger than its next biggest relative. 00:29.630 --> 00:31.060 Whale sharks are found everywhere 00:31.060 --> 00:32.270 in the tropical oceans. 00:32.270 --> 00:33.720 So you'll find them in the Pacific Ocean, 00:33.720 --> 00:36.300 the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean, 00:36.300 --> 00:38.450 anywhere where it's warm enough, which pretty much means anywhere 00:38.450 --> 00:41.360 where it's over about 72 degrees Fahrenheit. 00:41.360 --> 00:44.870 >> NARRATOR: While they may be the largest fish in the sea, 00:44.870 --> 00:48.210 the animals are gentle giants. 00:48.210 --> 00:49.570 >> These are sharks that feed 00:49.570 --> 00:52.300 by filtering tiny food items out of the ocean 00:52.300 --> 00:54.300 rather than having huge teeth and biting things. 00:54.300 --> 00:57.060 They're a very large animal that's feeding very low 00:57.060 --> 00:59.450 on the food web. 00:59.450 --> 01:03.480 It's pretty much the same way the great whales feed. 01:03.480 --> 01:05.450 They're fairly indifferent to the presence of people 01:05.450 --> 01:08.390 and they really present no harm to us at all. 01:08.390 --> 01:10.600 >> It's amazing to be in the water 01:10.600 --> 01:13.480 with an animal three or four times your size, 01:13.480 --> 01:17.720 watching the majestic movement, the power. 01:17.720 --> 01:19.600 At the same time, they are so tame, 01:19.600 --> 01:22.180 so gentle, so fearless. 01:22.180 --> 01:25.750 It's a fantastic thing. 01:25.750 --> 01:28.390 >> NARRATOR: Named for their size and feeding habits, 01:28.390 --> 01:32.720 the animals are capable of making vast migrations. 01:32.720 --> 01:35.750 Yet despite their enormous size, little is known 01:35.750 --> 01:39.450 about whale sharks. 01:39.450 --> 01:40.630 >> We don't really know what role they're filling 01:40.630 --> 01:41.810 in the ecosystem. 01:41.810 --> 01:44.509 So we're asking simple questions like, 01:44.509 --> 01:46.600 how many whale sharks are there and where do they come from, 01:46.600 --> 01:48.450 and where do they go? 01:48.450 --> 01:49.600 >> NARRATOR: Whale sharks are thought 01:49.600 --> 01:52.090 to be solitary animals most of the year, 01:52.090 --> 01:56.840 but during certain seasons they gather in large numbers 01:56.840 --> 01:59.509 in different places around the globe, 01:59.509 --> 02:04.750 including off the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. 02:04.750 --> 02:06.570 >> This is the largest aggregation 02:06.570 --> 02:08.150 of whale sharks in the world, 02:08.150 --> 02:09.270 and it's happening a stone's throw 02:09.270 --> 02:10.389 from one of the biggest tourist destinations 02:10.389 --> 02:11.780 in the Caribbean. 02:11.780 --> 02:38.540 It really is one of nature's wonders. 02:38.540 --> 02:40.840 >> Major funding for this program was provided 02:40.840 --> 02:43.390 by the Batchelor Foundation, 02:43.390 --> 02:46.480 encouraging people to preserve and protect 02:46.480 --> 02:51.570 America's underwater resources. 02:51.570 --> 02:54.450 And by Divers Direct, Emocean Club, 02:54.450 --> 02:57.090 inspiring the pursuit of tropical adventures 02:57.090 --> 03:12.090 and scuba diving. 03:12.090 --> 03:13.330 >> NARRATOR: Cancun, Mexico, 03:13.330 --> 03:16.180 is one of the most popular tourist destinations 03:16.180 --> 03:18.780 in the Caribbean, 03:18.780 --> 03:24.690 attracting millions of visitors each year. 03:24.690 --> 03:29.150 But just offshore from the miles of hotels and hustle and bustle 03:29.150 --> 03:37.270 lies a fragile yet highly productive ocean ecosystem. 03:37.270 --> 03:41.660 Each summer, the region is home to the largest known aggregation 03:41.660 --> 03:45.780 of whale sharks in the world. 03:45.780 --> 03:47.150 >> About 20 years ago, we thought 03:47.150 --> 03:49.870 that whale sharks were solitary off-shore animals. 03:49.870 --> 03:51.810 And then they started to discover 03:51.810 --> 03:53.600 that in certain places in the world 03:53.600 --> 03:55.360 there are places quite close to the shore 03:55.360 --> 03:58.210 where whale sharks actually gather in large numbers. 03:58.210 --> 04:01.030 And we discovered that one of those places is Yucatan, Mexico. 04:01.030 --> 04:03.510 And in two places at least here in Yucatan, Mexico-- 04:03.510 --> 04:06.300 near Isla Holbox, and here near Isla Contoy-- 04:06.300 --> 04:09.000 there are places where dozens, sometimes hundreds 04:09.000 --> 04:11.510 of whale sharks gather in the same place. 04:11.510 --> 04:14.000 The reason whale sharks come here is to feed. 04:14.000 --> 04:15.660 And when they come to Isla Holbox 04:15.660 --> 04:17.660 on the northern side of the Yucatan, 04:17.660 --> 04:19.630 they mostly come to feed on zooplankton, 04:19.630 --> 04:22.210 but when they come to the Caribbean side of the Yucatan, 04:22.210 --> 04:23.720 they're here to feed on fish eggs. 04:23.720 --> 04:26.060 And they feed on fish eggs and nothing but fish eggs 04:26.060 --> 04:28.750 all day, every day for at least four months. 04:28.750 --> 04:33.330 It's the most amazing biological aggregation I've ever seen. 04:33.330 --> 04:34.720 They tend to be sub-adults, 04:34.720 --> 04:36.600 so these are not fully grown whale sharks. 04:36.600 --> 04:38.780 They're in the high 20s to the low 30s of feet. 04:38.780 --> 04:40.300 And they tend to be overwhelmingly male, 04:40.300 --> 04:42.570 which is interesting, because if you go 04:42.570 --> 04:45.090 to the offshore locations where the really big animals are, 04:45.090 --> 04:46.840 most of those animals are female. 04:46.840 --> 04:48.570 So there seems to be some sort of segregation 04:48.570 --> 04:52.060 in the ocean where juveniles and males go to one place 04:52.060 --> 04:54.510 and adults and females go to a different place. 04:54.510 --> 04:57.600 We don't really know why this is. 04:57.600 --> 04:59.510 >> NARRATOR: While the animals can dive 04:59.510 --> 05:02.630 to at least a mile deep, they tend to feed 05:02.630 --> 05:05.180 at or near the surface. 05:05.180 --> 05:07.630 >> We're pretty sure that whale sharks fall 05:07.630 --> 05:10.300 into that feast or famine feeding mode where, 05:10.300 --> 05:12.630 when conditions are good as they are here in Mexico, 05:12.630 --> 05:14.570 they can eat nonstop for four months. 05:14.570 --> 05:17.540 But then when they leave, they can go a really long time 05:17.540 --> 05:19.720 before they have the need to eat again. 05:19.720 --> 05:21.120 And that's how their life goes. 05:21.120 --> 05:22.420 They go from buffet to buffet, but they've got 05:22.420 --> 05:24.660 to run a marathon in between. 05:24.660 --> 05:27.420 >> NARRATOR: Watching dozens of whale sharks 05:27.420 --> 05:31.780 vacuuming up plankton is a spectacular sight. 05:31.780 --> 05:34.240 >> You sail into this ocean of fins. 05:34.240 --> 05:36.240 It's quite extraordinary to see the size, 05:36.240 --> 05:37.270 and it never gets old. 05:37.270 --> 05:38.720 It's like being a kid. 05:38.720 --> 05:42.690 You're just very excited about seeing these animals. 05:42.690 --> 05:44.840 >> NARRATOR: This aggregation first caught the attention 05:44.840 --> 05:49.570 of scientists in 2003, when locals started taking tourists 05:49.570 --> 05:51.420 to see the animals. 05:51.420 --> 05:55.120 >> The tourist operations started when fisheries deplete. 05:55.120 --> 05:58.630 And we figured out that there was so few knowledge 05:58.630 --> 06:00.150 about the whale sharks. 06:00.150 --> 06:02.840 Our research was developed in order 06:02.840 --> 06:07.330 to gather enough information to manage the tour operation. 06:07.330 --> 06:09.330 >> NARRATOR: The Mexican National Commission 06:09.330 --> 06:13.150 for Protected Areas formed Project Domino 06:13.150 --> 06:15.840 with U.S. collaborators 06:15.840 --> 06:18.000 to better understand the animals' movements 06:18.000 --> 06:22.720 and devise conservation measures. 06:22.720 --> 06:26.330 To ensure responsible whale shark interactions, 06:26.330 --> 06:28.480 local authorities also worked closely 06:28.480 --> 06:30.780 with researchers and other stakeholders 06:30.780 --> 06:34.870 to develop guidelines for tour operators. 06:34.870 --> 06:38.240 >> There are about 19 different guidelines. 06:38.240 --> 06:42.540 It is mostly to be respectful with the sea life. 06:42.540 --> 06:44.840 >> Based on the research findings, 06:44.840 --> 06:48.180 the government created a whale shark biosphere reserve 06:48.180 --> 06:51.420 in 2009 to protect the animals. 06:51.420 --> 06:53.480 But experts quickly discovered 06:53.480 --> 06:57.090 that the whale sharks also aggregated outside 06:57.090 --> 07:00.540 of the boundaries of the reserve. 07:00.540 --> 07:02.810 >> That demonstrates that animals do not care 07:02.810 --> 07:05.690 about borders. 07:05.690 --> 07:07.270 >> NARRATOR: In the meantime, 07:07.270 --> 07:12.600 popularity of the tourist whale shark encounters took off. 07:12.600 --> 07:15.540 >> In 2003, there were about ten boats only. 07:15.540 --> 07:21.150 By 2004, there were 50 boats allowed. 07:21.150 --> 07:23.840 Nowadays we have more than 250. 07:23.840 --> 07:26.510 >> Ecotourism is definitely a two-edged sword. 07:26.510 --> 07:28.660 It's a tremendous opportunity for people 07:28.660 --> 07:30.540 to connect with nature. 07:30.540 --> 07:32.390 And we absolutely want to encourage that. 07:32.390 --> 07:34.840 But we've got to do it in a way that is going to be safe 07:34.840 --> 07:37.210 for the people and safe for the animals. 07:37.210 --> 07:39.420 >> This is no longer ecotourism. 07:39.420 --> 07:42.659 It's massive tourism. 07:42.659 --> 07:44.510 If you can imagine over 100 boats 07:44.510 --> 07:46.659 at the same time on this small area. 07:46.659 --> 07:49.810 All the fumes, the possibility of leaking oils 07:49.810 --> 07:52.690 and things like that, could be a disaster. 07:52.690 --> 07:55.180 >> When you have that many boats and that many animals 07:55.180 --> 07:57.750 all in the same place, it's pretty much inevitable 07:57.750 --> 08:00.510 that at some point, propeller is going to meet flesh. 08:00.510 --> 08:03.540 And we see a significant portion of the animals show signs 08:03.540 --> 08:06.240 of recent interactions with boats. 08:06.240 --> 08:07.840 >> We lack a lot of enforcement. 08:07.840 --> 08:11.120 It's supposed to be surveillance every single day, 08:11.120 --> 08:14.600 but to be honest, in the last three years, 08:14.600 --> 08:16.450 we've been having the visit of the surveillance people 08:16.450 --> 08:20.480 for no longer than three days in the whole season. 08:20.480 --> 08:22.840 >> It really falls back on the eco-tour operators themselves 08:22.840 --> 08:26.390 to be self-regulating, and as we know from banking 08:26.390 --> 08:28.570 and other sectors of society, if you rely on people 08:28.570 --> 08:30.570 to regulate themselves, it doesn't always go 08:30.570 --> 08:34.210 as well as it could. 08:34.210 --> 08:36.840 >> NARRATOR: Rafael says that while most tour operators 08:36.840 --> 08:39.360 are trying to be conscientious, 08:39.360 --> 08:41.360 they are facing a tremendous amount 08:41.360 --> 08:42.690 of pressure from ticket agencies, 08:42.690 --> 08:46.750 which guarantee guests animal encounters 08:46.750 --> 08:49.150 or they get their money back. 08:49.150 --> 08:50.780 >> That, in my opinion, is something 08:50.780 --> 08:53.480 that should never have existed at all 08:53.480 --> 08:55.810 because that is putting a lot of pressure 08:55.810 --> 08:57.270 on the animals. 08:57.270 --> 09:00.270 The ideal thing should be to establish a max number 09:00.270 --> 09:04.000 of boats to interact per day in the area. 09:04.000 --> 09:06.270 >> It really does need a disinterested third party 09:06.270 --> 09:08.180 to come in and say, okay, too many boats. 09:08.180 --> 09:09.660 We need to limit entry, we need to limit the number 09:09.660 --> 09:11.810 of people, we need to increase the costs 09:11.810 --> 09:13.240 of doing this because the market forces 09:13.240 --> 09:15.720 have made it so cheap that margins are so razor thin 09:15.720 --> 09:24.720 that the whole system is really running on a knife edge. 09:24.720 --> 09:26.570 >> NARRATOR: To better understand the animals 09:26.570 --> 09:29.390 and make conservation recommendations, 09:29.390 --> 09:31.570 the Georgia Aquarium has teamed up 09:31.570 --> 09:33.270 with Rafael de la Parra and others 09:33.270 --> 09:37.570 to form a non-governmental organization. 09:37.570 --> 09:40.390 >> We call that blue realm orCh'ooj ajauil 09:40.390 --> 09:42.150 which means "blue realm" in Mayan. 09:42.150 --> 09:44.450 <font color = #FFFFFF><i>Reino azulin Spanish.</i></font> 09:44.450 --> 09:46.540 What we're trying to do is take a broader approach 09:46.540 --> 09:48.450 than just whale sharks and look 09:48.450 --> 09:50.720 at protecting the whole marine region 09:50.720 --> 09:53.120 because we recognize that the whale sharks are a reflection 09:53.120 --> 09:55.060 of a much bigger picture, 09:55.060 --> 09:57.420 which is this extraordinarily productive ecosystem 09:57.420 --> 10:00.420 that they have here. 10:00.420 --> 10:02.390 >> NARRATOR: Despite the fact that tourists are coming 10:02.390 --> 10:06.510 to see the animals in droves, still relatively little is known 10:06.510 --> 10:10.570 about these charismatic giants nicknamed "dominos" 10:10.570 --> 10:27.240 by the locals because of their polka-dotted skin pattern. 10:27.240 --> 10:30.270 One way to get a good estimate of how many animals 10:30.270 --> 10:47.030 are in the area is to count them from the air. 10:47.030 --> 10:50.150 >> Okey dokey, here we are. 10:50.150 --> 10:51.870 Look, a bunch of them right here. 10:51.870 --> 10:53.360 Lots of them. 10:53.360 --> 10:54.810 Woo-hoo! 10:54.810 --> 10:58.240 Many, many, many, wow! 10:58.240 --> 11:01.570 On the aerial survey that we are conducting 11:01.570 --> 11:04.720 hopefully once a week for the whole five months 11:04.720 --> 11:08.540 that the season lasts, trying to locate them 11:08.540 --> 11:10.450 and to count them. 11:10.450 --> 11:14.180 So far in 2009 was the largest aggregation ever. 11:14.180 --> 11:17.030 And we counted up to 420 whale sharks 11:17.030 --> 11:19.450 in a single spot. 11:19.450 --> 11:25.000 Today, we count up to 170. 11:25.000 --> 11:32.780 >> Little one. 11:32.780 --> 11:34.630 >> NARRATOR: Another way to study the animals 11:34.630 --> 11:45.180 and track their movements is to satellite-tag them. 11:45.180 --> 11:46.360 >> A lot of what we're doing here 11:46.360 --> 11:48.030 involves deploying different types of tags 11:48.030 --> 11:50.480 that will tell us about what whale sharks are doing 11:50.480 --> 11:52.060 when nobody's watching. 11:52.060 --> 11:54.510 We have what we call archival tags. 11:54.510 --> 11:56.060 Those are tags that record data 11:56.060 --> 11:57.870 about what the whale shark is doing. 11:57.870 --> 11:59.540 They save it inside the tag and then 11:59.540 --> 12:01.660 at some predetermined time the tag is programmed 12:01.660 --> 12:03.540 to release itself from the whale shark, 12:03.540 --> 12:06.540 float to the surface, and begin to report its treasure trove 12:06.540 --> 12:09.000 of data via satellite back to the researcher. 12:09.000 --> 12:11.270 We also have real-time tags. 12:11.270 --> 12:14.480 Those focus on telling you where the animal is right now. 12:14.480 --> 12:15.870 And those are tags that are towed along 12:15.870 --> 12:18.300 behind the animal, floating at the surface. 12:18.300 --> 12:20.570 And they report to us via the same GPS system 12:20.570 --> 12:22.210 that your car uses. 12:22.210 --> 12:24.060 And so those are able to tell us at any given moment 12:24.060 --> 12:26.090 where the whale sharks are going. 12:26.090 --> 12:28.000 One of the things I'm really excited about this year 12:28.000 --> 12:31.840 is that I'm connecting those real-time tags to social media. 12:31.840 --> 12:33.480 So this year our whale sharks are going 12:33.480 --> 12:37.420 to be tweeting their locations in real time by Twitter. 12:37.420 --> 12:39.180 And that's a really fun piece of science 12:39.180 --> 12:41.120 that's going to allow kids and the public 12:41.120 --> 12:43.660 to follow along with science as it happens. 12:43.660 --> 12:47.120 >> NARRATOR: In addition to recording the animal's location, 12:47.120 --> 12:49.480 the tags also collect temperature data 12:49.480 --> 12:55.420 and depth profiles. 12:55.420 --> 12:57.330 >> Attaching tags of any kind to whale sharks 12:57.330 --> 12:59.090 is the biggest challenge. 12:59.090 --> 13:02.210 We struggle with getting them to stay on. 13:02.210 --> 13:04.090 Whale sharks are very fast and very large. 13:04.090 --> 13:06.600 They have the thickest skin in the animal kingdom. 13:06.600 --> 13:08.690 So getting a tag into their skin and getting it 13:08.690 --> 13:10.180 to stay there for months turns out 13:10.180 --> 13:13.330 to be much harder than you think. 13:13.330 --> 13:15.600 >> NARRATOR: Through the use of satellite tags, 13:15.600 --> 13:19.090 experts have been able to figure out a general migration pattern 13:19.090 --> 13:20.600 for the animals. 13:20.600 --> 13:21.810 >> There are other places in the Caribbean 13:21.810 --> 13:23.570 where you can see whale sharks all year-- 13:23.570 --> 13:25.540 in Honduras, for example, around Utila. 13:25.540 --> 13:27.810 Other places like Belize you see them mostly 13:27.810 --> 13:30.090 in the springtime, and then in the Gulf of Mexico, 13:30.090 --> 13:32.480 mostly in the summertime and into the fall. 13:32.480 --> 13:34.750 And this reflects a rough migration pattern 13:34.750 --> 13:37.060 where they migrate up the coast of Mesoamerica 13:37.060 --> 13:39.180 and then into the Gulf of Mexico where they do a big loop 13:39.180 --> 13:44.210 over the course of the summertime. 13:44.210 --> 13:45.750 >> NARRATOR: But as with anything, 13:45.750 --> 13:51.090 there are always exceptions to the rule. 13:51.090 --> 13:53.420 >> There's a famous whale shark called Rio Lady 13:53.420 --> 13:56.480 who was tagged by Bob Hueter from Mote Marine Laboratory. 13:56.480 --> 13:59.780 And Rio Lady was tagged here at the offshore location 13:59.780 --> 14:02.060 and she went off to the South Atlantic. 14:02.060 --> 14:03.840 She didn't go into the Gulf of Mexico at all. 14:03.840 --> 14:05.750 In fact, she went the exact opposite direction. 14:05.750 --> 14:07.330 She went right across the Caribbean 14:07.330 --> 14:09.750 and out into the islands in the South Atlantic. 14:09.750 --> 14:11.390 Her tag came off not far from a place 14:11.390 --> 14:13.420 called St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks, 14:13.420 --> 14:14.690 which is right on the equator 14:14.690 --> 14:16.750 about 800 miles off the coast of Brazil. 14:16.750 --> 14:19.750 And so her total migration path was over 4,000 miles. 14:19.750 --> 14:22.570 >> NARRATOR: Since then, Rio Lady has returned 14:22.570 --> 14:24.780 to the aggregation site in Mexico 14:24.780 --> 14:28.510 where scientists were able to put a new tag on her. 14:28.510 --> 14:31.780 >> So we'll see if she goes back to that offshore location. 14:31.780 --> 14:33.240 Why does she go there? 14:33.240 --> 14:34.780 Why does she do something different from all the others? 14:34.780 --> 14:36.600 We think she's a big pregnant female 14:36.600 --> 14:38.090 and we suspect that she probably was going 14:38.090 --> 14:39.450 to that offshore location 14:39.450 --> 14:43.570 for pupping or some other part of the reproductive cycle. 14:43.570 --> 14:46.030 Reproduction is probably the biggest black hole 14:46.030 --> 14:47.660 in our knowledge about whale sharks. 14:47.660 --> 14:49.540 Nobody's ever seen them mating, 14:49.540 --> 14:51.720 nobody's ever seen them giving birth. 14:51.720 --> 14:54.300 People have found, occasionally, newborn whale sharks 14:54.300 --> 14:57.360 in the size of sort of one to two feet in length. 14:57.360 --> 14:59.690 And we do know that they give birth to live offspring 14:59.690 --> 15:02.180 and that females can have as many as 300 babies 15:02.180 --> 15:06.570 in their uterus at once. 15:06.570 --> 15:08.630 >> NARRATOR: During whale shark season, 15:08.630 --> 15:11.630 Rafael and his wife spend three or four days a week 15:11.630 --> 15:17.300 studying the whale sharks from the air or in the water. 15:17.300 --> 15:19.030 In addition to tagging the animals, 15:19.030 --> 15:21.750 scientists also take photos to identify 15:21.750 --> 15:27.750 and track the whale sharks. 15:27.750 --> 15:30.240 >> You have to jump and chase the animal 15:30.240 --> 15:34.270 and be perfectly perpendicular, and take the photograph 15:34.270 --> 15:37.600 right behind the fifth gill, on top of the pectoral, 15:37.600 --> 15:39.600 and catching as much as possible the dorsal part 15:39.600 --> 15:41.840 of the animal. 15:41.840 --> 15:43.390 >> And if you can get that photo 15:43.390 --> 15:46.120 and mark some spots on it, and upload it to this website, 15:46.120 --> 15:47.600 there is a computerized algorithm 15:47.600 --> 15:49.720 that then compares that photo with every other photograph 15:49.720 --> 15:51.270 in the database. 15:51.270 --> 15:52.420 And there are whale sharks from all over the world 15:52.420 --> 15:53.600 in this data set. 15:53.600 --> 15:55.210 And it returns a list of potential matches, 15:55.210 --> 15:57.060 and then you can look at them visually 15:57.060 --> 15:58.420 to confirm whether in fact you're looking 15:58.420 --> 16:00.360 at the same animal or not. 16:00.360 --> 16:02.540 Using this process, we've now got over 1,000 animals 16:02.540 --> 16:05.720 in the whale shark aggregation from our site in Mexico. 16:05.720 --> 16:07.300 >> We have some animals here 16:07.300 --> 16:10.660 that now have ten-year visitation histories or more. 16:10.660 --> 16:12.750 And these animals stop becoming numbers 16:12.750 --> 16:17.630 and start becoming old friends for us. 16:17.630 --> 16:20.390 >> NARRATOR: One big concern the scientists have 16:20.390 --> 16:23.750 is boat collisions with the animals. 16:23.750 --> 16:25.300 >> When they are feeding on surface, 16:25.300 --> 16:27.690 they are vulnerable to boat collisions 16:27.690 --> 16:30.120 or propeller damage. 16:30.120 --> 16:32.330 And in this area, besides the tourist operation, 16:32.330 --> 16:33.750 we have a lot of traffic. 16:33.750 --> 16:36.810 We have at least three to four times a week, 16:36.810 --> 16:38.840 a couple times per day, 16:38.840 --> 16:42.690 big cargo ships passing right where the whale sharks 16:42.690 --> 16:44.060 are aggregating. 16:44.060 --> 16:46.810 >> NARRATOR: To avoid potential disaster, 16:46.810 --> 16:48.780 the scientists want to collect data 16:48.780 --> 16:51.750 on the ship traffic occurring in the area. 16:51.750 --> 16:55.450 Vessels over 300 gross tons are required to use 16:55.450 --> 16:59.810 what is called "the Automatic Identification System." 16:59.810 --> 17:01.840 >> And what the Automatic Identification System is, 17:01.840 --> 17:05.180 or AIS, is a method for tracking vessels at sea. 17:05.180 --> 17:07.180 So we're able to see where they go, 17:07.180 --> 17:09.000 what they carry, how large they are, 17:09.000 --> 17:10.480 and learn about the various characteristics 17:10.480 --> 17:14.540 of vessel traffic by collecting and archiving AIS data. 17:14.540 --> 17:17.060 If you look at this map, you'll see there really isn't 17:17.060 --> 17:18.359 a whole lot of ship coverage. 17:18.359 --> 17:20.450 There's a little bit right here between Cozumel, 17:20.450 --> 17:22.660 Playa del Carmen for monitoring ferry traffic, 17:22.660 --> 17:25.390 but there really isn't any coverage further north. 17:25.390 --> 17:27.210 And so what we're going to do is 17:27.210 --> 17:29.660 install an AIS receiver just north here 17:29.660 --> 17:31.450 and we're going to be able to cover 17:31.450 --> 17:33.030 where the whale shark aggregation is 17:33.030 --> 17:35.030 and start to characterize where whale sharks 17:35.030 --> 17:41.630 and ship traffic happen together. 17:41.630 --> 17:42.870 >> NARRATOR: To install the receiver, 17:42.870 --> 17:47.720 the experts head to Isla Contoy... 17:47.720 --> 17:50.690 a small island located where the Gulf of Mexico 17:50.690 --> 18:00.270 and Caribbean meet. 18:00.270 --> 18:01.780 >> We're looking for the highest point 18:01.780 --> 18:03.090 for miles around so that we can cover 18:03.090 --> 18:04.660 as much of the ocean with the AIS as we can, 18:04.660 --> 18:18.720 and this tower behind me is it. 18:18.720 --> 18:21.840 All righty. 18:21.840 --> 18:24.240 >> After a lot of hard work, the lights are blinking. 18:24.240 --> 18:26.720 We've got power, the solar panels are charging the battery, 18:26.720 --> 18:28.030 the antennas are up. 18:28.030 --> 18:30.870 Everything's working, which is great. 18:30.870 --> 18:33.060 We're going to want to at least archive vessel traffic 18:33.060 --> 18:35.750 for a year, look at seasonal changes and things like that. 18:35.750 --> 18:38.030 We'll look at the sightings of whale sharks 18:38.030 --> 18:39.810 that people have collected over years 18:39.810 --> 18:41.630 and we'll combine those sightings and look 18:41.630 --> 18:44.210 at where ship traffic intersects with those sightings. 18:44.210 --> 18:46.120 And then what we'll be able to do is, 18:46.120 --> 18:48.210 do some statistics to look at the risk 18:48.210 --> 18:52.180 of collisions between feeding whale sharks and ships. 18:52.180 --> 18:54.360 When we see what the risk of collisions is like, 18:54.360 --> 18:55.600 we can make recommendations 18:55.600 --> 18:57.390 to slightly tweak the shipping lanes 18:57.390 --> 18:59.720 around aggregations of whale sharks. 18:59.720 --> 19:01.540 And that's really going to help us work 19:01.540 --> 19:03.540 with the maritime industry to say, 19:03.540 --> 19:06.180 "Hey, of course you guys have rights to these waters as well, 19:06.180 --> 19:08.210 "but if you could just move your shipping lane a mile 19:08.210 --> 19:10.420 "to the east, you're going to reduce the chances 19:10.420 --> 19:13.330 of hitting whale sharks by so many percent." 19:13.330 --> 19:15.570 That kind of informed decision making, I think, 19:15.570 --> 19:18.570 is the best way to work together. 19:18.570 --> 19:20.360 It's been done with whales, particularly in the U.S. 19:20.360 --> 19:21.840 with the North Atlantic right whale, 19:21.840 --> 19:25.540 where they've shifted traffic lanes just ever so slightly 19:25.540 --> 19:28.120 to reduce the risk of collision with these right whales. 19:28.120 --> 19:30.510 And what that's done is, just a few degrees shift 19:30.510 --> 19:32.750 in the shipping lane has resulted 19:32.750 --> 19:34.720 in more than 50% reduction in risk 19:34.720 --> 19:36.210 to collision with right whales 19:36.210 --> 19:38.360 and a more than 80% reduction in risk 19:38.360 --> 19:41.150 from collision with other large baleen whales. 19:41.150 --> 19:42.810 >> We really get great satisfaction 19:42.810 --> 19:44.540 from taking the science and turning it 19:44.540 --> 19:49.120 into effective conservation outcomes. 19:49.120 --> 19:51.210 >> NARRATOR: In addition to using 19:51.210 --> 19:54.630 traditional satellite tags, Jake is also experimenting 19:54.630 --> 19:58.300 with a new tag design that he's putting together himself. 19:58.300 --> 20:00.720 He assembles the tag in his hotel room 20:00.720 --> 20:04.090 before the team heads out on the water. 20:04.090 --> 20:06.510 >> What this is doing is recording pitch, 20:06.510 --> 20:10.210 roll and heading, as well as depth. 20:10.210 --> 20:13.030 So every time the animal changes direction, 20:13.030 --> 20:15.810 changes depth and changes orientation 20:15.810 --> 20:18.120 in the water, we're able to measure that. 20:18.120 --> 20:20.780 And this is recording 100 times a second. 20:20.780 --> 20:23.030 It's sort of like we are able to ride along 20:23.030 --> 20:25.720 with the animal and see what it's doing underwater. 20:25.720 --> 20:29.720 We need to recover these tags to get the information off them. 20:29.720 --> 20:32.540 Because these tags are recording data 20:32.540 --> 20:35.210 at such a fine scale, and because it's all that data, 20:35.210 --> 20:38.840 it's not possible to transmit over satellite. 20:38.840 --> 20:41.660 >> NARRATOR: The scientists put one of these behavioral tags 20:41.660 --> 20:45.300 on a shark they nicknamed Señora Elastica. 20:45.300 --> 20:48.210 For the next three days, they hope to see her again 20:48.210 --> 20:51.180 at the aggregation site to recover the tag. 20:51.180 --> 20:53.450 >> We thought she had gone, we thought we had lost her. 20:53.450 --> 20:55.780 And then Jake went out to take some photos one day, 20:55.780 --> 20:58.540 just really for recreation, and from the deep, 20:58.540 --> 21:00.750 underneath him, Señora Elastica rose from the blue 21:00.750 --> 21:03.210 and he was able to reach down and pluck the tag off, 21:03.210 --> 21:06.120 and now we have a hundred hours in the life of a whale shark, 21:06.120 --> 21:07.660 which is really an extraordinary data set 21:07.660 --> 21:14.660 that nobody's had before. 21:14.660 --> 21:16.360 >> NARRATOR: Once the team returned 21:16.360 --> 21:18.690 to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, 21:18.690 --> 21:21.420 they began to look at the data in the lab. 21:21.420 --> 21:23.690 >> And it is so much fun, I have to tell you. 21:23.690 --> 21:26.240 The way that you can reconstruct her movements 21:26.240 --> 21:28.090 in three dimensions, you can see every tail beat, 21:28.090 --> 21:31.090 you can see every dive and every feeding behavior. 21:31.090 --> 21:32.810 And that's really, really exciting. 21:32.810 --> 21:35.510 We've covered several night times, several daytimes, 21:35.510 --> 21:37.600 some surface behavior, some bottom behavior. 21:37.600 --> 21:39.510 It really is extraordinary detail 21:39.510 --> 21:41.870 that we've never had before about what whale sharks do. 21:41.870 --> 21:43.720 One of the things that it really revealed to us is 21:43.720 --> 21:46.210 how much time they spend going up and down. 21:46.210 --> 21:47.480 We thought a lot of the time, they were either 21:47.480 --> 21:49.420 at the surface or at the bottom, but as we look 21:49.420 --> 21:51.150 at the data in more detail, 21:51.150 --> 21:53.870 we see that they're pretty much constantly going up and down. 21:53.870 --> 21:55.330 We really were surprised 21:55.330 --> 21:58.120 exactly how much of their time they spend in transit. 21:58.120 --> 21:59.540 We're probably underestimating how many whale sharks 21:59.540 --> 22:01.300 there are out there because we base that 22:01.300 --> 22:02.870 on a surface assessment. 22:02.870 --> 22:05.510 You look around, you say, "Oh, there's about 150 animals here." 22:05.510 --> 22:07.450 But if there's an additional 30% to 40% 22:07.450 --> 22:09.360 that are on the bottom at that moment, 22:09.360 --> 22:10.870 and they're going to swap with other animals 22:10.870 --> 22:12.330 that are currently at the surface, 22:12.330 --> 22:13.780 then you're probably underestimating 22:13.780 --> 22:16.210 exactly how many whale sharks there are in your aggregation. 22:16.210 --> 22:17.420 That's probably a good thing. 22:17.420 --> 22:19.180 We'd like to know there are more animals out there, 22:19.180 --> 22:20.870 but it's the sort of information that we wouldn't have had 22:20.870 --> 22:23.060 before this kind of tagging technology. 22:23.060 --> 22:24.240 So it's very exciting for us for the first time 22:24.240 --> 22:25.870 to be able to see what whale sharks do 22:25.870 --> 22:29.690 in their spare time. 22:29.690 --> 22:31.630 >> NARRATOR: The Georgia Aquarium is the only facility 22:31.630 --> 22:36.120 outside of Asia that has whale sharks on display. 22:36.120 --> 22:37.540 >> We have four animals in the aquarium, 22:37.540 --> 22:39.180 two males and two females. 22:39.180 --> 22:41.090 They came from Taiwan. 22:41.090 --> 22:45.840 So those are Pacific animals, not Atlantic animals. 22:45.840 --> 22:47.720 >> NARRATOR: The aquarium's research staff 22:47.720 --> 22:50.150 not only conducts research in the field, 22:50.150 --> 22:53.210 but has also teamed up with Emory University 22:53.210 --> 22:56.480 to sequence the genome of whale sharks 22:56.480 --> 22:58.330 using tissue samples collected 22:58.330 --> 23:01.420 from captive animals. 23:01.420 --> 23:03.540 >> We take the DNA and we work in the lab 23:03.540 --> 23:05.570 to create what's called a sequencing library, 23:05.570 --> 23:07.390 which is a sort of form of the DNA 23:07.390 --> 23:10.240 that can be sequenced by the instrument. 23:10.240 --> 23:12.660 Then what the instrument effectively does is, 23:12.660 --> 23:15.420 it converts the chemical information to data. 23:15.420 --> 23:18.150 And then, really, the bulk of the work involves 23:18.150 --> 23:20.840 putting the data together. 23:20.840 --> 23:23.480 >> Whale sharks have so many, like, unique features. 23:23.480 --> 23:25.660 And the genome side is so big. 23:25.660 --> 23:29.690 So if we decipher the genome of this whale shark, 23:29.690 --> 23:31.870 then definitely we will be able to know 23:31.870 --> 23:33.810 why the whale shark is so big 23:33.810 --> 23:36.600 and why whale shark has some very unique feeding mechanisms, 23:36.600 --> 23:39.750 and how the whale shark species 23:39.750 --> 23:42.690 is related to other shark species. 23:42.690 --> 23:44.390 >> The other reason the genome is interesting 23:44.390 --> 23:47.030 is that sharks were the first group of vertebrates 23:47.030 --> 23:49.090 to evolve an adaptive immune system. 23:49.090 --> 23:50.420 So they're the first vertebrates 23:50.420 --> 23:52.330 to have specific antibodies in their blood 23:52.330 --> 23:53.840 to particular diseases. 23:53.840 --> 23:55.330 And so if we want to know 23:55.330 --> 23:57.210 about where our own immune systems came from, 23:57.210 --> 23:58.870 looking in the tissue and DNA of sharks 23:58.870 --> 24:00.780 is a great place to start. 24:00.780 --> 24:03.720 >> We can also use the DNA as a way 24:03.720 --> 24:06.570 to develop tests so that we can understand 24:06.570 --> 24:09.810 how diverse whale shark populations are. 24:09.810 --> 24:12.150 >> So far, we think that whale sharks are all one species, 24:12.150 --> 24:14.390 but to be kind of frank, I don't really believe that. 24:14.390 --> 24:16.060 I believe we probably haven't looked hard enough 24:16.060 --> 24:18.510 at their genes yet. 24:18.510 --> 24:20.840 >> NARRATOR: The scientists hope to compare tissue samples 24:20.840 --> 24:23.060 collected from the captive animals 24:23.060 --> 24:25.630 to those of other areas, to determine whether or not 24:25.630 --> 24:31.030 there are distinct sub-populations. 24:31.030 --> 24:33.210 >> That's a big shark! 24:33.210 --> 24:35.450 >> As we probe further into their genetic sequence, 24:35.450 --> 24:37.870 I expect that we'll find differences 24:37.870 --> 24:41.060 between Atlantic whale sharks and Indo-Pacific whale sharks 24:41.060 --> 24:43.150 because it's very unlikely that whale sharks are going 24:43.150 --> 24:44.870 around the bottom of South America. 24:44.870 --> 24:55.270 It's just too cold for them down there. 24:55.270 --> 25:00.330 >> NARRATOR: The oceans are still full of mysteries. 25:00.330 --> 25:03.540 Whale sharks may be the biggest fish in the sea, 25:03.540 --> 25:07.450 but so far we only know very little 25:07.450 --> 25:11.030 about these gentle giants. 25:11.030 --> 25:12.480 >> I love being offshore with the animals, 25:12.480 --> 25:15.480 and those days when it's really hot and really still, 25:15.480 --> 25:16.870 and all you can hear is the swishing 25:16.870 --> 25:19.840 of tails and dorsal fins through the water. 25:19.840 --> 25:21.630 And I like to think about the fact 25:21.630 --> 25:23.330 that this species has been on the planet 25:23.330 --> 25:24.480 for 70 million years. 25:24.480 --> 25:27.450 So back in the days when it was dinosaurs 25:27.450 --> 25:30.660 and not tourists that were roaming the Yucatan, 25:30.660 --> 25:32.180 whale sharks were already here. 25:32.180 --> 25:33.450 They were already probably doing exactly 25:33.450 --> 25:37.570 what we're seeing them do right now. 25:37.570 --> 25:39.420 I always come back from the field 25:39.420 --> 25:41.630 with renewed energy for science and renewed energy 25:41.630 --> 25:45.120 for trying to understand the biology that's all around us. 25:45.120 --> 25:47.270 Anyone who tells you that there isn't great stuff 25:47.270 --> 25:48.780 yet to be discovered in the oceans 25:48.780 --> 25:50.390 hasn't stuck their head underwater lately, 25:50.390 --> 26:15.510 because there's still plenty of cool stuff to see. 26:15.510 --> 26:17.660 >> Major funding for this program was provided 26:17.660 --> 26:20.540 by the Batchelor Foundation, 26:20.540 --> 26:23.420 encouraging people to preserve and protect 26:23.420 --> 26:28.420 America's underwater resources. 26:28.420 --> 26:31.330 And by Divers Direct, Emocean Club, 26:31.330 --> 26:33.810 inspiring the pursuit of tropical adventures 26:33.810 --> 26:36.390 and scuba diving. 26:36.390 --> 26:41.390 And by the Do Unto Others Trust.