Fisherman swims with a whale shark off Maryland coast

SALISBURY, Md. — A Fourth of July family fishing outing didn’t land any tuna for Josh Schleupner, but he managed to get his hands on something even bigger.

Schleupner dove in the water off Ocean City, Md., with a monstrous whale shark, the world's largest living fish, which makes his encounter with one of the elusive creatures the second by locals in just over a week.

The Maryland man's outing was starting to look like a slow fishing day Tuesday, having reeled in exactly zero tuna about 72 miles east of Ocean City. 

“And this thing just basically came right up to the boat,” Schleupner said.

As soon as he was assured of his safety, Schleupner said, he donned a snorkel and mask and leaped into the water. With great effort, he managed to reach the whale shark — surprisingly fast swimmers, he said, given their size — and lay his hands on it.

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“It was one of those experiences that I know I’ll never get again," Schleupner said. "Unfortunately, I didn’t catch any fish, but that was fine. I couldn’t have asked for anything different. I didn’t even know it was on my bucket list until I did it.”

Whale sharks are among the largest living vertebrates, and the docile filter-feeders can grow up to 20 tons and 32 feet in length over a 70-year lifespan, according to National Geographic.

Ryan Taylor, a professor of biology at Salisbury University and a research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, said sightings are exceedingly rare in the Atlantic off the coast of Delaware and Maryland due to the warmer water temperatures preferred by the giant fish.

“Our waters here are a little odd in that during the summer, the surface temperatures get quite warm, but you don’t have to go that deep before you get to this layer of cold water,” he said. “Because our waters get relatively cool relatively quickly as you get deeper, it makes them exceptionally uncommon areas to spot them.”

As for swimming with the aquatic behemoths, Taylor said "it's safe," but there’s always the possibility of being struck by a tail as they swim past.

“They’re filter feeders that have no interest in biting humans and they’re generally just really docile,” he said. “In fact, many people pay good money to go out into areas where they’re more populous in hopes of getting a chance to swim with them.”

Although Schleupner holds a special achievement for getting his hands on one of the fish, another area local had his own close encounter on June 27.

Steve Moore, captain of The Stalker with Stalker Sportfishing Charters in West Ocean City, was awoken below deck by his mate shortly after midnight about 68 miles off the coast.

"We were on an overnight trip and my mate was taking watch during the night," he said. "He woke me up saying I had to see something, that a huge whale shark came up on the boat. I looked out the port window and it was right there, practically rubbing his nose up against the boat."

Rushing to the deck to shoot photographs and video, Moore said the ship's lights illuminated a whale shark "about 30-35, maybe even 40-feet long" at the ocean's surface.

"It kind of swam there and went out behind the boat, turned around and went under us before going out on his way," he said. "The way he just turned was amazing considering how big they are."

Moore said in all his years on the waters between New Jersey and Ocean City, this was a first for him.

"I've spent a lot of time on the ocean, and this was something I'd always hoped for," he said.