Whale Shark Plateau

A broad submerged plateau at 18 to 28 metres on Tioman's southern tip concentrates plankton blooms that draw whale sharks during the inter-monsoon windows of March through May and again in August and September. The flat top of the plateau teems with rainbow schools of yellowback fusiliers, blue-and-gold fusiliers, and surgeonfish that part dramatically when a whale shark — often a juvenile of five to seven metres — cruises through. Occasional manta rays join the aggregation during peak plankton events, and the plateau edges drop to blue water where large dogtooth tuna patrol.