Freediving / Snorkeling
in Bait Balls & Whale Sharks
This is one of the most impressive observation you can have in and under water.
The four species of tuna hunt on snipe fish and bastard mackerels and form the so called feeding balls. Sometimes the dolphins do the same. Once the baitfish is in the ball formation its much more easy for Mobula, whale sharks and baleen whales to hunt them. So you will witness the cooperation of this species under water.
While in June and July its mainly dolphins, Jacks and Mackarels that form the balls in August the Tuna is coming in. The small fish reproduces in the shallow waters and the deep sea mountains around Pico and Faial so from Mid August there is massive food in the water. That’s the time the giant whales sharks show up to participate in the big feast.
Facts about whale sharks
WHALE SHARKS ARE NOT WHALES, THEY ARE SHARKS
Although these huge sea creatures are called ‘whale sharks’, they are not actually whales, but filter-feeding sharks.. They are also the world’s largest fish, growing up to 12 metres long.
Whale sharks are filter feeders and can NOT bite or chew. They can process more than 6,000 litres of water an hour through their gills. The mouth can be 4 feet wide but whale shark’s teeth are so tiny that they can only eat small shrimp, fish and plankton by using their gill rakers as a suction filter.
Its expected that only 10% of the new borns service. But the survivors can get as old as 150 years.
Whale sharks can be found in all temperate and tropical oceans around the world, except the Mediterranean Sea. They can migrate thousands of miles to different feeding grounds, but only at a slow swimming speed of around 3 miles per hour.
The Azores whale shark shave been equipped with Satellite tags of the Ecodive team of Dr. Jorge Fontes for our Megalodon project. We could follow them migration 5000km to reach feeding ground off the coast of Venezuela / Surinam where the warm carrebean waters meet the south america current. That means that this animals travel more than 10.000 km to move between the feeding grounds.
Many sharks are accidentally caught in fishing gear, as well as caught deliberately for their fins, which are a delicacy in Asia. Their ocean home is also in danger. From climate change warming the water - affecting both habitats, prey and shark population shifts - to plastic pollution, which could cause entanglement or be ingested, especially by filter feeders.
SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainable treatment of the animals is our top priority. Therefore, the experienced skippers also read the behavior of the animals first and decide when or if you are allowed into the water.
With the help of the experienced skippers you can observe the behavior of the whales in peace and learn a lot about their life and migration cycles. Permanent residents of the region are sperm whale cows, which stay with their calves year-round in the warm and nutrient-rich waters. In addition, pilot whales, small killer whales, sei whales, fin whales, minke whales, round-headed dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins can often be observed.
Why Pico Sport
Operating since 1993 we have 30 years of experience with marine mammals. Our skippers work with us since many years and lots of experience in gentle handling of the animals. We find the whales and dolphins because we work with land based spotters. This technique dates back to the days of the old whalers. With strong binoculars the so called VIGIA searches for the whales and dolphins. They tell the boats the positions of the animals. Thus, we never go blindly to the ocean and work with a 99% success rate in sightings.
Megalodon Project
Want to learn more about megafauna migrations in the Atlantic? Then read on our megalodon page what you can contribute.
Additional Packages
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Freediving / Snorkel in Bait Balls Day Trip
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since 1996 - 26 years of experience
