bigfish Sightings

We would like to hear about every sighting of whale sharks, basking sharks, white pointers, manta rays and devil rays in New Zealand. Every sighting is valuable. These will enable us to build up a picture of where these animals are most often seen, and over time, we may be able to figure out if they prefer some areas over others, and why.

If you see one of these amazing animals, could you please download and fill out the PDF version of the sighting form (we'll have an online version soon-ish), and snail-mail it to:

P.O Box 16217
Sandringham
Auckland 1351.

If you get the opportunity, photographic or video images provide valuable information. Images of the areas indicated by the red circle below, can be used to photo ID the animals, and we may be able to identify the individual at a later date. If you do have images, could you please snail-mail them to us too please? Don't forget to include your name, the date the images were taken, locality details and any comments about what you saw.

Image copyright will always be retained by the person who took the images. Note that by sending us your images, we can only assume that you give your permission to add those images to the bigfish image database, unless clearly stated otherwise.

A summary of the distinctive features of the bigfish species are shown below. This info is available for PDF download as the Spotters Guide.