WHEN BRAD NORMAN saw his first whale shark, rising like a small planet out of the darkness, he was too stunned to swim. Instead he floated, skin needling beneath his wetsuit, and watched as the biggest fish in the sea swam past. Ever since that dive off WA'S Ningaloo Reef in 1995, the marine biologist has made the conservation of these gentle giants his life's work — work that in October led to his being named Australia's first Rolex Awards for Enterprise winner in 25 years. Talking to AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC via satellite phone from the Rowley Shoals, 200 nautical miles (370 km) off the Kimberley coast, Brad sounds deeply satisfied; his voice has the timbre of a man with a sated addiction.
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