Whale sharks are one of the largest fishes in the ocean and are also called ‘Gentle Giants.’ The plankton-eating fish are extremely docile, but their population faces huge threat due to rampant hunting for their meat, fin and oil.
Whale sharks are one of the largest fishes in the ocean and are also called ‘Gentle Giants.’ The plankton-eating fish are extremely docile, but their population faces huge threat due to rampant hunting for their meat, fin and oil.
Ganesh Nakhawa, Vice Chairman of Purse Seine Fishing Welfare Association, informed that the video was shared by one of the fishermen from his association, who were on the boat. They narrated the whole experience to him. "The incident happened two weeks ago when this boat from Mumbai’s Sassoon dock was out fishing for horse mackerel. The crew on the boat soon realised that a whale shark was stuck and since it was a purse siene net they could lead the shark to the end of the net and ensured it was safely released," he said adding that this was a major advantage of purse seine nets.
Even as the video has gone viral and several experts and conservationists demanded that the crew needed to be felicitated, Nakhwa informed that the crew which is from Uttar Pradesh and Ratnagiri have gone back to their villages as the ships have been docked with the end of fishing season. "We have all their names and they will be back after August 15 after which they can be felicitated," he informed.
Local fishermen state that for the Koli community, the whale shark is revered and its sighting is considered very auspicious. "We call it Bairi Dev locally and spotting it in the ocean is regarded as a good season so there is no question nobody would want to harm the fish. In fact, we have been educating our community and the fishermen under our association to ensure they save any protected and endangered mammal or such fish caught in the nets," he said.
N Vasudevan, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (APCCF) Mangrove Cell, said that these are one of the most beautiful sharks and are endangered species as they were mass hunted but a lot of programmes for their protection are being run across India. "They are known to breed in Gujarat and Malvan is where the second biggest congregation if these whale sharks are found. The effort by the fishermen is commendable,” he said.
Marine enthusiast and one of the founders of Marine Life of Mumbai (MLOM) Pradip Patade, who even shared the video on social media, said that such videos also make sure that people know about the conservation work done by the fishing community. "I was very glad that BNHS Director Deepak Apte voiced that these fishermen who released the whale shark must be recognised and even said that BNHS will do it. Such support and gestures will help strengthen the resolve of the fishing community to protect such endangered species," he said.
Meanwhile, to promote marine conservation, in a first of its kind initiative for Maharashtra, fishermen who cut their fishing nets to free- protected marine mammals and fishes, which get entangled will now be able to claim compensation of up to Rs 25,000 under the Mangrove Foundation’s conservation project. A provision of Rs 25 Lakh has been made by the Foundation for this project for the year 2018-19 and the funds will be disbursed in co-ordination with the Fisheries department.
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