A whale shark, about 5 meters long, was photographed slowly swimming off the coast of Kushimoto Town, Wakayama Prefecture, and has become a hot topic among divers.
This whale shark was photographed on June 23, about 500 meters off the coast of Shionomisaki in Kushimoto Town.
According to Mr. Katsumasa Taniguchi, the guide of the diving shop that took the picture, he was swimming slowly without running away even when approaching underwater.
When the video taken by Mr. Taniguchi was posted on the store's homepage, divers said, "I want to go see it," and it has become a hot topic.
Mr. Taniguchi said, "I was surprised when I saw it. It was a good opportunity to get to know the aspect that there are such things in the sea of Kushimoto."
In addition, Shinsuke Ui, a former director of the Kushimoto Marine Park Center Aquarium, said, "Whale sharks are creatures that originally live in the south, and because they travel north on the Kuroshio Current, they have rarely been on board the Kushimoto Sea. I've been witnessed from now on. I think it's very rare to see it so close. "