Getting Up Close With Giants: The Story Of Filming Whale Sharks in Qatar With The Animal Planet Team

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What do you do when you have dozens of whale sharks aggregating in the emerald waters of Qatar? You film them!

Scuba diving with whale sharks is guaranteed to be one of the best diving experiences you’ll ever have. So much so, that it features on most divers’ bucket lists.

This is my story of scuba diving with whale sharks in Qatar with The Animal Planet Team for the filming of the documentary Giants of the Sea.

Diving junkies, sea enthusiasts and animal lovers are ready to cross the Seven Seas to get up close to these gentle giants. Diving destinations like the Philippines or Mexico are popular choices to scuba dive with whale sharks - and understandably so. The water is warm, the visibility is great, and the coral reefs are bursting with colours.

But these dive sites are often crowded, making it hard to admire these beautiful creatures from a respectable distance...

...Respectable distance. What's that? No getting close. No feeding. No riding whale sharks and no cuddles.

Doha, Qatar: Just Another Day In The Office

What started as another day in the office - between diving courses and filling tanks - turned into a once in a lifetime opportunity: I was to be the safety diver for the Animal Planet Crew.

I was to take care of the diving logistics and assist the filming crew in and out of the water.

In other words, I was part of one of the most respected travel documentaries team!

Dive In: Looking For Whale Sharks In Qatar

Divers in-the-know will tell you that Qatar has whale sharks in abundance. In fact, Qatar has one of the largest whale sharks gatherings in the world.

No wonder the Animal Planet was keen to visit Qatar.

So for three days, as we headed out to sea, we were a bunch of excited divers, jumping around impatiently, waiting to get in the water with whale sharks.

Ready, Set, Action!

Once we reached the whale shark dive spot, I secured the dive line and carefully helped get the massive cameras into the water (they were huge!).

Once in the water, it wasn’t long until BHAM We saw not one…not two…not three...but dozens of whale sharks around, above and below us.

I’ve never seen anything like it.

There were no other boats nearby. No noise. It was just us and the whale sharks in what can only be described as the purest, unspoilt connection with nature.

But don’t just take my word for it: here’s the link to the Animal Planet documentary, Giants of the Sea.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3191361620939390

It’s moments like these that make me realize how lucky I am to catch a glimpse of the beauty of nature that very few people get to see.

Words from the Team Organizer:

"Ashwin Gerald was employed by Plimsoll productions to act as dive supervisor and dive buddy on September 2019 for a Discovery / Animal Planet Film Shoot in Qatar. The series is an adventure, wildlife series, this particular episode is about the whale shark gathering in the Al Shaheen oil fields. Ashwin managed the dive safety and dive planning. He was organized, managed all of the dive preparations, safety briefings and lead the presenter and camera man on dives.

Ashwin is a very keen and enthusiastic guide who we would recommend to future productions filming in Qatar."