Did you know that the world’s largest shark species has been seen along the Texas Gulf Coast?

Texas – Did you know that the world’s largest fish, whale sharks, can be found in the Gulf of Mexico and have even been seen 100 miles off the Texas coast?

Texas Parks and Wildlife tweeted Tuesday that whale sharks arrive in the Gulf each summer, so KSAT reached out to learn a little more about these seepage-feeding fish.

The photo of the whale shark that TPWD shared in the tweet was taken in October 2012 near the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, located approximately 100 miles off the Galveston coast. It is the only sanctuary located in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Due to the ongoing pandemic, we have not dispatched our Artificial Reef Team to the Gulf for routine monitoring of artificial reefs. The Coastal Fisheries Division does not study whale sharks in the Gulf. This photo was simply an incredible sighting for our team in 2012 when a diving sample was made, “TPWD inshore fishing division spokeswoman Julie Hagen told KSAT.

Rhincodon typus, more commonly known as a whale shark, can grow up to 40 feet in length and scientists believe they can live anywhere from 60 to 100 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The federal government (NOAA) works, samples, researches and protects large fish such as the whale shark, as well as marine mammals (sea turtles, dolphins, whales) in federal waters. Universities and nonprofits also play an important role in offshore coastal research, “said Hagen.

A 2010 article written by a freelance journalist for TPWD magazine noted that whale sharks have been seen circling platforms off South Padre Island.

Whale sharks “frequent the northern Gulf, southern Gulf and the Caribbean at almost the same time, from June to September,” according to the article.

Yucatan fishermen began to notice that whale sharks were gathering in the early 2000s in the southern Gulf and began to take tourists to see the huge animals that were concerned about shark safety.

At the time of publication of the article, whale sharks were classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

A July 2016 IUCN article said that whale sharks are now endangered and their population “has halved in the past 75 years, as these slow-moving sharks continue to be caught and killed by ship propellers. “

Did you see one Whale shark sightings in the northern Gulf of Mexico can be reported to the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory at the University of Southern Mississippi.