Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 May 2010
Knowledge of the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, in the south-east Atlantic off the coast of West Africa is limited to several bycatch and stranding records. Ten at-sea sightings of whale sharks from Angola (N = 9) and Nigeria (N = 1) are presented, consisting of nine sightings from offshore platforms and a single record from a helicopter. Eight of the records were from oceanic waters exceeding 1000 m, while single records originated from shelf-edge and continental shelf waters. The records support a year-round occurrence of whale sharks in offshore West African waters, although the majority (N = 8) of sightings occurred during the spring and summer months between September and January. Most sightings (N = 8) were of whale sharks estimated to be in the 5–7 m length-range. These records represent the first verified at-sea sightings in the West Africa region providing novel information on behaviour and distribution, and also confirm Nigeria as a range state for the whale shark.