In this work, made by students of the 11th year of the Portuguese School of São Tomé and
Príncipe in the framework of the PAFC (Project of Autonomy and Curricular Flexibility), whose
objective is to talk about the whale shark in São Tomé and Príncipe, the following topics will be
addressed :
1. The project;
2. The whale shark;
3. Sao Tome and Principe;
4. The sustainability of the species;
5. Practical ethics;
First we would like to introduce our islands. São Tomé and Príncipe is an African island country
located near the equator. The archipelago consists of two main islands and 20 islets. The island
of São Tomé and the island of Príncipe are about 150 km away from each other, and are
located about 300 km from the west coast of Africa, more specifically in the Gulf of Guinea.

The whale shark is the only species in the Rhincodontidae family that feeds on plankton.
Because they are low-territorial animals, they are free to swim as they please, and tend to
migrate at certain times of the year. Taking into account the fact that they prefer warm
waters, whale sharks are distributed in all seas and oceans with a tropical and temperate
climate, with the exception of the Mediterranean Sea, thus coinciding with the Santomean
climate. In addition to being the largest of the shark species, it is the largest known fish,
growing to around 20 m and weighing over 13 tons.

They are comfortable in temperatures between 21 and 30 degrees Celsius. Since the water
temperature in São Tomé varies between 27 and 28 degrees, it is possible to conclude that the
waters of São Tomé and Príncipe are attractive for the species mentioned above.

Whale Shark- Group :