An Iranian fisherman sparked outrage after turning a whale shark into a surfboard and posting the video on Instagram. The whale shark — Rhincodon typus — is the world’s largest fish and an endangered species.
The video has gone viral, with 24,000 views at the time of this post, drawing both criticism and support for the angler who had the whale shark encounter in the Persian Gulf. He can be seen stepping off the boat and onto the back of the fish, with a buddy joining in later.
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Whale sharks are heavily protected around the world. In Mexico — where whale sharks commonly aggregate off the Yucatan Peninsula and the west coast — touching the sharks, flash photography, scuba diving and approaching a whale shark with more than one boat is forbidden.
Instagram: rahmat.hosseini.71A man riding a whale shark in the Persian Gulf
The man in the video is not in trouble with the law, according to France24, because the whale shark appears to be unharmed. The fisherman posted a second video of the whale shark swimming nearby, seemingly unharmed.
Project AWARE recommends staying at least 3 meters away from the head of a whale shark and 4 meters away from the tail in its Responsible Shark and Ray Tourism Guide.
Whale sharks — which can grow to be 40 feet long and 47,000 pounds — can be so disturbed by the touch of snorkelers that they shudder.
