"To everyone sitting on their couches watching Shark Week: that's cool I guess. I prefer to go out, jump in and ride them like a horse." Steve Fernandez did just that with a 20,000lbs whale shark off the coast of New York City.
“坐在沙发上看“鲨鱼周”应该也挺酷的。但我更愿意来到户外，跳到海里，像骑马一样骑着鲨鱼。”史蒂夫·费尔南德斯刚刚在纽约海岸边和一条重达2万磅的鲸鲨嬉戏回来。

Whale Sharks are the largest fish in the ocean, growing up to 41 feet long and up to 47,000lbs in weight. Their mouths are full of small teeth they use to filter algae, krill and plankton out of the water, like a whale. They're known for their friendly disposition and curious demeanor. Sightings of them are relatively rare, but they often interact with human swimmers when we do manage to get in the water with them.
鲸鲨是海洋中最大的鱼类，成年鲸鲨可达到长41英尺、重47000磅。它们跟鲸鱼一样，口中布满尖利的小牙来从水里过滤藻类，磷虾和浮游生物。鲸鲨性情温顺又举止好奇，人们很少能看到它们，然而当人类想在水中和它嬉戏时，它也会回应游泳者的互动。

Those encounters more frequently occur in tropical waters, particularly off the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. The waters off New York are at the northern boundary of their range, so this guy was a rare treat.
这样的邂逅经常发生在热带水域，尤其是墨西哥的尤卡坦半岛海岸。纽约的这片水域是在其北部边界附近，因而能见到鲸鲨实属难得。

Steve Fernandez was out fishing when he came across this whale shark, then decided to jump in the water for a swim. We asked him about the experience.
史蒂夫·费尔南德斯是在海钓时偶遇这条鲸鲨的，他当即决定跳下水痛快地游一游。我们就这次经历采访了他。

IndefinitelyWild: How'd you find yourself on the ocean with a whale shark?
IndefinitelyWild（以下简称IW）：你是怎么发现身边有一条鲸鲨的？

Steve: I grew up in Breezy Point and have spent my entire life on the ocean. My obsession is tuna fishing and I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to fish the offshore waters of New York on a weekly basis.
史蒂夫：我在布里齐波恩特长大，一直与大海为伴。我非常喜欢钓金枪鱼，而每周能有机会在纽约海岸钓鱼实在是太幸运了。

IW: Ever come across a whale shark before?
IW：你之前偶遇过鲸鲨吗？

Steve: I haven't, but I always told myself that, if I did, I would take a swim with it. This one happened upon us while we were fishing and started eating the chunks of fish we were tossing off the boat.
史蒂夫：从没有，但是我跟自己说要是遇到了，我一定要跟它游个泳。我们是在钓鱼的时候，这一条就悄悄过来了，然后开始大嚼我们扔在船上的鱼。

IW: What do you mean when you say you "rode" it?
IW：你说你“骑”了鲨鱼是指什么呢？

Steve: I swam out to the whale shark about 30 feet off the back of the boat. I then swam above it and held its fin as it rose to the surface, eating our bait. I had both my feet on the back of the shark. He sure didn't mind and just wanted to keep gorging on the free meal!
史蒂夫：当时鲸鲨离船大概有30英尺，我就向它游了过去。然后我游到了它的上方，趁它浮上水面吃我们的饵时抓住了它的鳍。我把两只脚都放在了鲨鱼的背上，我猜它是不会介意的，因为它正忙着狼吞虎咽免费的午餐呢！

IW: Were you scared?
IW：当时你害怕吗？

Steve: Not at all. There are certain sharks I would not get in the water with, but fortunately a whale shark is one of the many I would swim with. I am pretty familiar with most of the marine life we come across, so that helps ease the nerves. The amount of adrenaline I had running through my veins far surpassed any nerved I may have had from the nearby non-friendly sharks.
史蒂夫：一点都不。有一些种类的鲨鱼是不能接触的，但幸运的是，鲸鲨可以跟人类一起玩耍。对于大部分碰到的海洋生物，我都非常熟悉，这也帮我放松了一些。当时我体内的肾上腺素完全超过了我接触其他附近不友善的鲨鱼种类。

IW: Did the shark respond to your presence?
IW：鲨鱼回应你了吗？

Steve: It actually did, which was one of the reasons why it was so amazing! It slowed down, its eyes rotated towards me as I swam up to it and, as soon as I grabbed onto it, it went right back to eating the chunks of fish, not a hair of concern that I was nearby and touching it. They are very curious and docile and one of the easiest fish to swim with in the ocean.
史蒂夫：它实际是回应了的，也正是它的回应让我特别激动！它放慢了速度，当我往它身上游时它还转转眼睛看着我，当我抓住它的鳍时，它就直接继续回去吃大餐了，根本不在乎我在附近还抚摸着它。他们好奇心特别重，又温顺，实在是大海里最容易一起游泳的鱼了。

IW: What did it feel like to be in the water with such a large animal?
IW：跟体形这么庞大的动物一起游泳是什么感觉？

Steve: It was just something I have always wanted to do and was one of the many time I've been left in awe while out on the ocean. It was an intelligent creature, 500 times my size and we both looked at each other while we floated in crystal clear water that was over half a mile deep. He knew I was there and that I meant no harm. Honestly, after looking me over, he paid no attention to me.
史蒂夫：这是我一直想做的事儿，在岸上时，我也无数次地对鲸鲨怀有敬畏之心。它们很聪明，又是我体格的500倍，当我浮在将近一英里深的澄澈的水中时，我们还对视了一会儿。它知道我是没有恶意的。说实话，打量了一下之后它就再没注意我了。

It's things like this that keep me going out on the ocean week after week, to have a connection like that with another species is just amazing. Just imagine the things it has seen in its lifetime patrolling the deep.
正是这样的事情驱使我每周都会去海上，和另一种生物有这样的契合是非常奇妙的。只是想象一下它在深海潜游都会看到什么就足够让人激动了！

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