From Sushi to Science: Floating Fish's Death Could Provide Insight Into Little-Known Species

Jan. 23, 2007 — -- Officials are looking for answers in the sudden death of one of four prized whale sharks housed at the popular Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

Ralph the whale shark died unexpectedly on Jan. 11. Officials say the 22-foot-long Ralph stopped swimming that afternoon and died later that night.

Ralph and Norton, the aquarium's other male whale shark, arrived at the aquarium in June 2005 from Taiwan, where they had been destined to become seafood. The pair were joined a year later by two females, Alice and Trixie.

The aquarium is the only place outside Asia that holds whale sharks. Ralph and his companions came from Hualien, Taiwan, where an annual quota of whale sharks is harvested for food.

Through an agreement with the Taiwanese government, the giant fish were pulled from that quota and brought to Atlanta.

"We work very closely with the local fishing population in securing these animals," said Ray Davis, the aquarium's senior vice president of zoological operations.

Davis, one of the scientists who accompanied Ralph from Taiwan, says the fishermen are as important as the fish when it comes to catching whale sharks.

"They are absolutely critical to what we do," he said.

Now that a necropsy on Ralph is complete, his remains -- all 1 ton of him -- will be sent to a crematorium and then to an undisclosed pet cemetery, where they will be buried in the ground.

It seems like an unlikely end for a seafaring giant that once seemed destined to become soup or sushi.

Fresh Fish: Planes, Cranes and Automobiles

Ralph's Homeric journey from the waters off Taiwan's coast to Atlanta was a remarkable one. This was no pet-shop guppy in a clear, plastic bag.

The mighty fish was caught unceremoniously and randomly in a massive, fixed net. Ralph was then transferred with more help from the locals to an underwater holding pen.

From there, the scientists took over.

Young Ralph, then only a puny 15 feet long at the time, was moved to a specially designed sea pen, then to a mobile life-support container and trucked to the airport.

The whale shark was then loaded and flown to Alaska on a specially equipped UPS-donated 747 cargo plane, off-loaded, put on to another plane, and flown south to Georgia. From there it was yet another truck ride to the aquarium.

"The whole escapade -- 8,000 miles from sea to exhibit -- took an unbelievably short 36 hours and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Dave Santucci, Georgia Aquarium's public relations director.

Santucci could not provide details on how much it costs to cremate and bury a 2,000-pound fish, but he said, "It will likely be in the thousands [of dollars]."

Long Live Ralph: The Fish Is Dead, but His Legacy Lives On

Little is known in general about whale sharks' behavior and basic biology, such as where they travel in the ocean, reproduce and feed.

"It was only the late 1800s that we got the first scientific description of these animals," Davis said. "The good news from this situation is that the science involved can be applied to the conservation of the species as a whole."

Whale sharks -- the world's largest fish -- can reach lengths of up to 66 feet. Whale sharks' formal scientific name is Rhincodon typus. When it hits the plate, it's called Tofu Sha or tofu shark.

"It is both tofulike in texture and in that it takes on the flavor of the foods around it," said Davis, who has sampled the delicacy.

Despite its large size, the whale shark is harmless to humans and considered a relatively solitary creature.

"They do congregate in large numbers in certain parts of the world," Davis said. "It appears from our observations that they are following the food."

The samples taken from Ralph's 12-hour necropsy are currently being analyzed. The procedure was completed by as many as 20 scientists, including the Georgia Aquarium veterinary and husbandry staff, University of Georgia pathologists, and shark experts from Florida.

Based on the time and resources used, the aquarium believes this was the most in-depth postmortem ever completed on a whale shark. The last real study of the whale shark's mouth and breathing apparatus was recorded in a juried publication back in 1945.

Ralph in life and now death will do more for his kind than science can imagine.

"The samples taken from the necropsy will be stored so that they can be studied today as well as decades from now," Davis said.

"Data collected from the necropsy is being stored so that as technology develops, there will be usable samples to work with in the future," Davis said. "We are also planning to publish scientific papers based on what we learn."

With fewer than 15 whale sharks in captivity worldwide, three still reside at Georgia Aquarium. Davis says these animals are being used to determine ways in which to study whale sharks in the wild.

The cause of Ralph's death will take weeks if not months to determine. Meanwhile, officials at the Georgia Aquarium are monitoring his surviving whale shark friends closely.

"Norton seems to not be eating normally, but the two females, Trixie and Alice appear normal," Davis said.

For more information about Ralph, Norton, and Trixie and Alice and the Georgia Aquarium, visit http://www.georgiaaquarium.org..