News Animals

Migrating whale sharks make pit stops at oil and gas rigs

The human-made structures act as artificial reefs, luring the plankton the giant fish like to eat

A whale shark, its filter feeding mouth agape, swims amongst smaller fish.

A whale shark (Rhincodon typus) can eat up to 20 kilograms of plankton each day.

Ben D’Antonio

By Melissa Hobson

Like rolling into a gas station during a road trip, whale sharks use oil and gas rigs as a pit stop during their migrations of thousands of kilometers across the oceans. The human-made structures attract marine life — including the sharks’ favorite snack: plankton. But experts worry that this lure could put the endangered behemoths at risk of ship strike or chemical pollution.