The shark that sparked panic off the coast of Ashdod Friday was identified as a whale shark, the first time the species has been recorded in Israeli waters. Despite its enormous size, the whale shark poses no danger to humans.
The dorsal fin rising above the surface triggered an alarm at Ashdod’s Beach 11, leading authorities to evacuate swimmers and conduct searches. The Ashdod municipality’s beach division immediately activated its “shark protocol”: the beach was closed and warning signs were posted.
The shark at Beach 11 in Ashdod
(Video: Ashdod Municipality)
Dr. Aviad Scheinin of the Morris Kahn Marine Research Station at the University of Haifa’s Charney School of Marine Sciences reviewed the footage provided by the Ashdod beach division and confirmed the animal was a whale shark.
“This is the first documented sighting of a whale shark along Israel’s Mediterranean coast, and only the third confirmed sighting in the entire Mediterranean,” Scheinin said. The first verified sighting was in Turkey in 2021, and the second in December 2022, when a whale shark was caught in a tuna net near Ceuta in North Africa.
Whale shark off the coast of Ashdod
(Video: Mike Edri)
Though massive — typically 12 to 14 meters long, with a lifespan that may exceed 100 years — the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), known as the world’s largest fish, feeds only on plankton, small fish and tiny crustaceans filtered from the water. The species is classified as endangered by the IUCN.
Scheinin added that it is likely the whale shark reached Israel via the Suez Canal and that there is no indication the animal is in distress.
Whale sharks, occasionally sighted in the Gulf of Eilat, were first scientifically described in 1828 after a 4.6-meter specimen was harpooned in Table Bay, South Africa. The species was formally detailed in 1849 by British military physician and zoologist Andrew Smith. Its name, “whale shark,” stems from its physiology — its whale-like size and its filter-feeding method similar to that of whales.