the only reason its so fascinating is because they brought it in to sell. and the reason that's so interesting is because whale sharks are endangered.
they found the thing floating around unconscious and then dead a few days later... i don't see what the big deal is about it. i've been scuba diving with those things, they're harmless and extremely graceful underwater.
according to national geographic the average size of a whale shark is between 18 to 32.5 ft long with the largest ever recorded 40 feet. So im not sure where you guys are coming up with this particular shark being an average specimen.
this, everybody knows what a whaleshark is, and they are all around the size of school buses. if it was a schoolbus size whitey, then itt would be worth a look.
and yea i know that pic is a blue whale not a whale shark