The passengers and crew of Silversonic, Quicksilver's fastest vessel from it's Great Barrier Reef fleet were thrilled to see a Whale Shark swimming on the Agincourt Ribbon Reef.  They were anchored in position on the reef to let the passengers go snorkelling and diving when the Whale Shark popped in for a visit.

Skipper Tim Riegels said "This was a unique experience.  I've been on the Reef for over 10 years and I've never seen a Whale Shark before, it was a rare privilege and my passengers were over the moon"

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus), is a slow moving filter feeding shark.  It is the largest living fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of 12.65 metres (41.50 ft) and a weight of more than 21.5 tonnes (47,000lbs), but the individual that the Silversonic passengers saw was much smaller than that and experts are of the opinion that it was most probably a juvenile up from more southerly waters. Whale Sharks are actually quite gentle and can play with divers. Divers and snorkellers can swim with this giant fish without risk apart from unintentional blows from the shark's large tail fin

The shark is found in tropical and warm oceans, lives in the open sea with a lifespan of about 70 years. The species originated about 60 million years ago. Although whale sharks have very large mouths, they feed mainly, though not exclusively, on plankton, microscopic plants and animals, although the BBC television series Planet Earth filmed a whale shark feeding on a school of small fish.

This type of incredible shark has been seen by divers in many places, including Western Australia (Ningaloo Reef, Christmas Island), Tofo Beach in Mozambique, Sodwana Bay (Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park) in South Africa and a large number of destinations around the Pacific Rim like the coasts off Thailand and the Philippines,at the Galapagos Islands, off Isla Mujeres in Mexico and now on the Great Barrier Reef as confirmed by these glorious underwater photos taken by Lucy from InDepth Video and Photography.  Just another reason why Port Douglas is confirming it's position as 'The Jewel of the Pacific Rim'.