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Anna Maria Charters captain spots whale shark for second time
Captain David White with Anna Maria Charters spotted a whale shark about 35 miles off the coast on Monday. It's not the first time he's seen one of the massive beasts. Last year, he recorded a similar sight in almost the same spot.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fla. - It's not every day you get to see something as spectacular as a whale shark in the open water. But it might be once a year.
Captain David White with Anna Maria Charters spotted a whale shark about 35 miles off the coast on Monday.
Whale shark spotted off Anna Maria Island by David White in May 2022
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The whale shark stayed right in front of their boat, in crystal blue water.
It’s not the first time that Captain White has spotted a massive whale shark in the area. Last year, nearly to the day, three whale sharks swam up to one of his boats in almost the exact same spot.
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From 2021: Whale sharks spotted off Anna Maria Island
Three whale sharks surprised a boat captain and his customers off the coast of Anna Maria Island on Wednesday.
‘I think he likes us’: 3 whale sharks surprise fishing captain, customers off Anna Maria Island
And the year before, Captain Josh from Siesta Kation Charters was greeted by a large whale shark about 12 miles offshore of Siesta Key. That’s about 50 miles north of Anna Maria Island.
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From 2020: Whale shark swims right next to boat
A large whale shark surprised boaters by surfacing right next to their vessel in the waters off of Siesta Key on Tuesday.
MORE: Whale shark swims right next to boat off Siesta Key
In fact, whale sharks have been spotted near Tampa Bay between March and June for several years.
In early June 2018, there were two sightings of a whale shark off Anna Maria Island. A few days later, vacationers spotted a large whale shark in the same area.
Five days later, boaters got an underwater look at a whale shark off St. Pete Beach.
Whale shark spotted off Anna Maria Island by David White in May 2022
One year and three days later, a FOX 13 viewer captured underwater video of a whale shark in the same spot.
And in June 2019, a fisherman saw a whale shark off Clearwater Beach.
It’s unclear whether the whale shark might be the same one, year after year, but the sightings are a sign whale sharks are able to thrive in the waters off Tampa Bay.