Mexico Whale Sharks 2022

Dr Clare Preeble · Issue 129, Nov/Dec 2022 · pp. 61–62

I was very pleased to be part of the triumphant return of Aqua-Firma to Mexico this year to see the Yucatan Peninsula whale shark aggregation. Post plague, the logistics of the trip had changed slightly, and this was also the first time that both Charlotte Caffrey of Aqua-Firma and I had hosted the Mexico trip. What could go wrong!? Spoiler alert – not much – it was actually amazing! Team 2022 assembled at the Playa Mujeres beachfront, north of Cancún, at the decadent all-inclusive hotel that was to be our base for the next week. We were a Goldilocks- sized group of ten, with a diverse range of backgrounds and ages. Some had been trying for a decade to see whale sharks. Others were seasoned hands, having travelled to multiple aggregation sites worldwide. So, no pressure then… Day one on the water was preceded by an introduction to our fearless boat captain and whale shark researcher extr…