tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953008377950396317.post1579577092476422963..comments2024-03-28T06:19:50.620-07:00Comments on SearchReSearch: Wednesday search challenge (4/25/12): World's biggest fish story?Dan Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13603209997260423532noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953008377950396317.post-19850610408326815552012-04-27T14:59:00.393-07:002012-04-27T14:59:00.393-07:00I saw a whale shark while swimming in the Sea of C...I saw a whale shark while swimming in the Sea of Cortez (we took a rubber boat 100 yards away from shore). I was 14 at the time and jumped in the water and IMMEDIATELY jumped back in the boat (there is something unnerving about swimming with a GIANT fish that that has the word "shark" in it's name).<br /><br />This particular whale shark was probably 9-10 ft long. (not humongous, but the largest "fish" I've ever seen up close and in the wild). Anyhow, not that it helps to have one person say, "I've seen a whale shark!", but the maps coincide with where I saw this particular whale shark.Colorado Techiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00019635187360002484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953008377950396317.post-90971976336931784212012-04-25T15:51:59.319-07:002012-04-25T15:51:59.319-07:00This one was easy (or I assume it was, unless my a...This one was easy (or I assume it was, unless my answers are wrong). The problem was different sites contradicted - including generally reputable sites. <br /><br />It took me under 15 seconds to type in "largest fish is" and get the answer "whale shark". Lots of sites give information including a map of the fish distribution. These include wikipedia and http://www.whalesharkproject.org/v.asp?level2=6376&depth=2&level3=6376&level2id=6376&rootid=6371&nextlevel=6376<br /><br />Numbers are estimated by counting them at the Ningaloo reef where they migrate each year. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-12-26/whale-shark-numbers-increasing-study-finds/996638<br /><br />Yearly numbers of Whale Sharks in Ningaloo Marine Park is estimated to vary between 200 and 400 individuals although it's not known if this is the global population, which is unknown. http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=66680<br /><br />The average size is 20.6 tons (18.7 tonnes) on http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/whale-shark/<br />This differs considerably from Wikipedia which gives the average size of adult whale sharks as 9.7 metres (31.82 ft) and 9 tonnes (20,000 lb) while another site says that the average size is 25 feet (7.6 m) long http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/species/Whaleshark.shtml<br />The average girth was harder but seems to be about 4m (although the biggest specimen found was 7m.Arthur Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10213417718516627413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953008377950396317.post-82744965838153680432012-04-25T09:21:55.092-07:002012-04-25T09:21:55.092-07:00google search 'largest fish' I thought it ...google search 'largest fish' I thought it was a whale shark, but a wanted to make sure.<br />http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/recovery/r-typus-issues/biology.html - found species name and publication of original sighting (smith 1828)<br /><br />average size is tricky because this report says that recent shark sightings have been about 6.5ft less than normal<br />Decline in whale shark size and abundance at Ningaloo Reef over the past decade: The world’s largest fish is getting smaller<br /><br />http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320708001791<br />this reports on a large fish 12m (in report), standard 10.23m; girth of body 5.05m<br />http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/2819/1/MFIS_66-9.pdf<br /><br />this report says length is 10-12 meters long<br />Title: Threatened fishes of the world: Rhincodon typus (Smith 1828) (Rhincodontidae)<br />Source: Environmental biology of fishes [0378-1909] yr:2005 vol:74 iss:2 pg:184<br /><br /><br />method of counting - capture mark recapture (CMR) using photographs...identify spot pattern between gills and dorsal fin, individual contributors and anyone in the world- found by google web search 'estimating number rhincodon typus' and 'research report whale shark'<br />http://www.usm.edu/gcrl/whaleshark/report_a_sighting.php<br />http://www.ecocean.org/<br />http://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2009/7/n007p039.pdf<br />http://www.conservationregistry.org/assets/0000/1519/EndangeredSpeciesResearch_n007p039.pdf<br />"estimating population size, structure, and residency time for whale sharks rhincodon typus through collaborative photo-identification"<br /><br />map worldwide - found by google images search "rhincodon typus map" and reading through the pages http://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?search=Rhincodon%20typusViInThePihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065419952695801109noreply@blogger.com