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Hanifaru Bay, home to a large numbers of whale sharks.

Hanifaru in Baa Atoll, is an uninhabited island with a natural underwater bay -locally known as ‘Vandhumaafaru Adi’- famous for whale sharks. The bay, known to divers as ‘Aquarium’ is home to a large numbers of whale sharks, grey sharks, manta rays and sting rays, is also a nursery for these species.

It is believed to be ‘one of the very few places in the world where whale sharks congregate to mate.’ Divers might have known the bay very recently. However, the fisherfolks of Baa Dhonfanu and other nearby inhabited islands had known the place for centuries, not as a dive spot, but as a whale shark fishing point; whale sharks, caught for their liver oil and/or fins, used to be an important source of livelihood for them.

Any industrial activity on Hanifaru will upset the fragile ecosystem of Vandhumaafaru Adi. This ecosystem, vital for the aggregations of whale sharks for mating, is a unique natural habitat and one of the very few such places in the world. It is imperative that this bay is protected from human encroachment and declared as a whale shark sanctuary.