Large numbers of vulnerable whale sharks are hawk-eyed in waters off Madagascar.
The first major scientific survey within the space shows there ar way more of the massive fish than antecedently thought.
Eighty-five people were known in an exceedingly single season from pictures of their distinctive markings.
The coastal waters contain a large diversity of marine life, as well as sharks, whales and turtles.
"No one thought there have been that several [whale] sharks," same Frank Stella Diamant of the Madagascar shark Project in nosey Be, associate island off the coast of Madagascar.
"They do not appear to be there all year spherical - they are available back for the food."
Many stars
Whale sharks, that have distinctive spot patterns, ar noted domestically as marokintana, which means several stars.
The marine biologists uploaded pictures of the sharks' markings to a world information of sightings called the Wildbook for shark.
They found no overlap with information collected from alternative feeding areas within the Indian Ocean, suggesting the whale sharks - all juveniles - had not migrated from Mocambique or alternative close areas.
Satellite tags hooked up to the whale sharks to trace their movements unconcealed that 1/2 the labelled sharks visited a second hotspot off southern Madagascar, whereas 5 swam over to Mayotte and also the land islands.
"It was exciting to examine that there's a second hotspot for the sharks within the space," same Diamant, World Health Organization junction rectifier the research.
"Madagascar clearly provides a crucial seasonal environment for these young whale sharks, therefore we'd like to make sure they're effectively protected within the country."
People jaunt see and swim with these mammoth, harmless sharks as a part of growing touristry trade on the island.
Researchers have demanded a code of conduct to assist shield the whale sharks from human interference.
"These sharks may be a serious quality for the country," same author Dr Simon Pierce, principal mortal at the Marine Megafauna Foundation. "There's already a decent marine touristry trade developing," he added.
Over the last decade, populations have declined dramatically globally, as a result of overfishing, accidental catches and boat strikes.
The overwhelming majority of the fish ar found within the Indo-Pacific, wherever numbers have declined by over five hundredth over the last seventy five years.
A smaller population found within the Atlantic is additionally in decline.