Whale shark filmed swimming off Naples

In a remarkable turn of events, Captain Sam Katona of Hawgwild Charters captured breathtaking footage of an unexpected visitor during a routine fishing excursion off the coast of Florida. On Tuesday, while leading a group 50 miles to Bonita Beach for a day of flounder fishing, Katona and his crew were treated to a unique encounter with a whale shark. “I mean, it was without a doubt the coolest thing I saw in the 10 years I was doing it there,” Katona said. The encounter unfolded when one of the regular passengers aboard Katona’s boat spotted the enormous creature. “I went into the cabin of the boat to grab some extra gear, and one of my regular guys in the back of the boat said, ‘Wow, look at the size of this thing!’ “I didn’t think much about it. So I turned around and looked at it. Oh my God, it’s a whale shark, I’ve never seen one before,” said Katona. long, Katona described being “speechless” at the size of the whale shark “Oh, it was super super soft! You wouldn’t have known it was there unless you looked at it,” he said. “You know, it crept up on us and then it sat there for about 45 minutes.” Bill D ‘Antuono, Captain of Offshore Naples Charters, shared his insights on encountering whale sharks, highlighting the rarity and uniqueness of such a whale shark “I would say it’s very rare to see one. A. I mean, if you spend enough time on the water you’ll eventually see one, but that’s why we go out there to see all kinds of things you can’t see them on land ” said D’Antuono. Whale sharks are currently in the midst of their annual migration along the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, making it the perfect time to observe these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat.

NAPLES, Florida —

In a remarkable turn of events, Captain Sam Katona of Hawgwild Charters captured breathtaking footage of an unexpected visitor during a routine fishing excursion off the coast of Florida.

On Tuesday, while leading a group 50 miles to Bonita Beach for a day of flounder fishing, Katona and his crew were treated to a unique encounter with a whale shark.

“I mean, this is without a doubt the coolest thing I’ve seen in the 10 years I’ve been doing this,” Katona said.

The encounter unfolded when one of the regular passengers aboard Katona’s boat spotted the enormous creature. “I went into the cabin of the boat to grab some extra gear, and one of my regular guys in the back of the boat said, ‘Wow, look at the size of this thing!’ I didn’t think much about it. So I turned around and looked at it Oh my God! You know, it’s a whale shark, I’ve never seen one before,” Katona said.

Estimating the gentle giant to be around 30 feet long, Katona described being “speechless” at the size of the whale shark.

“Oh (the whale shark) was super, super gentle! You wouldn’t have known it was there unless you looked at it,” he said. “You know, it came over us, and then it sat there for about 45 minutes.”

Bill D’Antuono, Captain of Offshore Naples Charters, shared his perspective on the whale shark encounter, emphasizing the rarity and uniqueness of such an experience.

“I would say it’s very rare to see one. I mean, if you spend enough time on the water you’ll eventually see one, but that’s why we go out there to see all kinds of things you can’t see on earth,” D’Antuono said.

Whale sharks are currently in the midst of their annual migration along the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, making it the perfect time to observe these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat.