Look: Whale shark spotted off Abu Dhabi nuclear plant

Dubai: A healthy young whale shark was spotted for a few days swimming within the marine structures of Abu Dhabi’s nuclear power plant.

Whale sharks can grow up to 12 meters long, but on average they grow 5.5 to 10 m, and an adult shark can weigh as much as 20.6 tons.

Whale sharks do not pose a threat to humans.

 

رصدت شركة نواة للطاقة وجود قرش حوتي في الهياكل المائية البحرية بالقرب من محطة براكة للطاقة النووية، وظل يسبح في هذه الهياكل لعدة أيام. وقد يعود وجوده بالقرب من براكة إلى البيئة البحرية الغنية وتوافر الغذاء فيها، نظرًا إلى كاسر الأمواج الموجود هناك، وهو المشروع الذي أنشئ قبل أعوام قليلة لتعزيز المَواطِن والبيئة البحرية بالقرب من محطة براكة. القرش الحوت أو القرش الحوتي هو أكبر أنواع أسماك القرش والأسماك، وهو أيضًا من أكبر الفقاريات اللا ثديية، ويتمتع بأوسع فم على الإطلاق. وعلى الرغم من ضخامة أحجامه وكبر حجم فمه، إلا أنه يتغذى أساسًا وإن لم يكن حصرًا على العوالق والنباتات الميكروسكوبية والحيوانات والأسماك الصغيرة، أي أنه يتبع طريقة التغذية التي تسمى "تغذية الفلتر". الجدير بالذكر أن القرش الحوتي لا يمثل خطرًا على الإنسان. ويمكن العثور على أسماك القرش الحُوت في البحار المفتوحة والدافئة، وظهر هذا النوع قبل نحو 60 مليون سنة مضت. . A healthy young whale shark was spotted swimming within the Barakah NPP marine structures for a few days. The Whale Shark is a slow-moving, filter-feeding (feeds on particles or small organisms strained out of water by circulating them through its system), carpet shark. It is by far the largest living nomammalian vertebrate. Whale sharks have very large mouths and are filter feeders. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and are not known to pose a threat to humans. The species originated about 60 million years ago.The whale shark inhabits all tropical and warm-temperate seas. It is worth mentioning that the shark was probably attracted to Barakah NPP marine structures due to availability of food created in the habitat by the breakwater, which was constructed few years ago to enhance the environmental marine habitats near Barakah.

A post shared by Nawah Energy Company (@nawahenergy) on Jul 5, 2017 at 1:04am PDT

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), whale sharks tend to like warmer areas and are found in tropical waters all over the world.

Some have been spotted in cooler waters, but most whale sharks — 75 percent — are found in the Indian and Pacific oceans; 25 percent in the Atlantic.

On its Instagram account, Nawah Energy posted a photo of the exotic whale shark, with the caption: “It is worth mentioning that the shark was probably attracted to Barakah NPP marine structures due to availability of food created in the habitat by the breakwater, which was constructed few years ago to enhance the environmental marine habitats near Barakah.”

In 2016, Gulf News reported that more than 63 marine species in the breakwater habitats, and 35 marine species were discovered using the artificial reef habitat.

The artificial reef was built in partnership with the National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) and in line with guidance from the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD).

Located 3.8 kilometres from the shoreline of Barakah, it is almost 6,700 square metres and built of waste-moulded concrete that offers a favourable habitat for numerous marine species.