Top Notch: Week 5, 20-footer at 20 miles

John M. Lafferty of Holmes Beach wins the fifth week of The Islander’s Top Notch photo contest with this image of a whale shark, spotted in July about 20 miles off Anna Maria Island in the Gulf of Mexico. Lafferty writes, “He was quite docile and we stayed with him for about 20 minutes.” The photographer will receive an Islander “More than a mullet wrapper” T-shirt and is a finalist in the contest, which offers a grand prize of $100 from The Islander and an assortment of gift certificates from Islander advertisers.