Swimmers were ordered out of the water at Ashdod’s Beach Yud-Alef on Friday afternoon when lifeguards spotted a large dorsal fin cutting through the waves. The municipality’s Coastal Department invoked its Shark Procedure, cleared the shoreline, and closed every bathing beach in the city while patrol boats and drones swept the surf.
Footage from the sweep went to the Morris Kahn Marine Research Station at the University of Haifa, where Dr. Aviad Shainin and his team identified the animal as a whale shark, Rhincodon typus. “This is the first documented sighting of a whale shark along Israel’s Mediterranean coast, and only the third confirmed sighting in the entire Mediterranean,” said Shainin, head of the Apex Marine Predators Lab. Officials reopened most beaches once the species was confirmed, though Beach 11 stayed closed until nightfall.
Before dawn on Saturday the same animal cruised off Netanya, about 50 kilometres north. Lifeguards there kept swimmers on the sand until they confirmed it was the same gentle filter feeder. The quick re-encounter led biologists to conclude the shark was moving steadily up Israel’s coastline and was not trapped.
A command center was set up with Shainin to coordinate updates. The Nature and Parks Authority reminded boaters not to harm the shark and asked the public to photograph it only from a distance and call the 3639* hotline if it appeared distressed.
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At adulthood the species can reach 12–14 metres and weigh more than 20 tonnes, making it the largest fish on Earth. It feeds on plankton, small fish, and tiny crustaceans, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as Endangered.
Marine ecologists noted that whale sharks are occasionally seen in the Gulf of Eilat, so a lone individual in the Mediterranean was plausible. Many scientists believe the fish likely entered through the Suez Canal, following nutrient-rich currents that sweep northward each spring. They called the encounter an important signal of possible shifts in migration routes and said it underscores the growing diversity of the region’s ecosystem.
Until 2021 no whale shark had been verified in the Mediterranean. One was filmed near Turkey that year, and another was caught in a tuna net off Ceuta, North Africa, in December 2022. Friday’s sighting now places Israel on the short list of Mediterranean nations that have hosted the species.
Beach officials in Ashdod said their response was driven by caution, not evidence of aggression. “There is currently no evidence that the whale shark is in any distress,” said Shainin, according to Israel Hayom.
The Coastal Department kept extra patrols through the weekend, and the Nature and Parks Authority circulated guidelines to diving clubs from Ashkelon to Haifa. Enthusiasts were advised to keep a respectful distance, avoid flash photography, and refrain from touching the shark; interfering with an endangered species carries heavy penalties under Israeli wildlife-protection laws.
Scientists said additional sightings would help clarify how often the world’s largest fish ventures into the Mediterranean and whether climate-driven changes in sea conditions are altering migration maps.