𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝟏𝟓,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐭 𝐁𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬

The 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡, the 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐤, is facing growing risks as global temperatures rise. Whale sharks may lose much of their 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 and 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭 as 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 forces them into new areas and dangerously close to 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬.

These massive creatures, typically found in 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬, are expected to shift towards 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 as the oceans heat up. This migration will increasingly put them in 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬, where they often swim near the ocean’s surface while feeding.

According to new research, if 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 persist, whale sharks could become up to 𝟏𝟓,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 to be struck by ships, with 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬 emerging along the 𝐔𝐒𝐀’𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭 and 𝐒𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞.

Co-author 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐬, from the 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐧, warns that while the risks are alarming, they could significantly decrease if urgent 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 is taken.

Sims explains, “The shifts we predict will be less extreme if we manage to 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 and 𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞, showing that even complex impacts can be reduced by 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.”

The study’s findings were recently published in the journal 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞.