A whale of a conservation effort

Whale shark, the largest living species of fish, comes under the category ‘endangered’ in The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. In India, the migratory species is listed in Schedule I (Part IIA) of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which is the highest protection status for any living species in the country. But the fishing community in Kerala seems to have no clue about these facts, their unregulated practices causing a significant decline in the whale shark population. But now the coastal communities in Kollam will be made aware of the need to protect the vulnerable species and the measures to conserve them. They will be educated on how to save the fish from regional extinction as part of a campaign jointly launched by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). The first awareness programmes in the district will be held at Vadi, Neendakara, and Sakthikulangara. “According to catch statistics and anecdotal reports, whale shark population is fast declining. Our objective is to sensitise at least 50% of the coastal community to the need to save the species in their fishing zones,” says G. Sethu, assistant field officer, WTI.

Meat not edible

In the past the species had been extensively hunted to meet international trade demands. “Though their meat is not edible, there is demand for shark fin in countries such as China and Indonesia. In India, most are accidental trappings and since they can’t sell it locally, fishermen kill the fish and dispose the body in the sea.”

The campaign to protect the species across Indian coastal line began 14 years ago in Gujarat.

Gujarat model

“In Gujarat, we could save over 700 whale sharks by freeing them from nets. Since they are very huge, there is no option other than to cut the net when they are trapped inside. The fishermen were given cameras to capture incidents of sharks getting entangled and being freed. They are compensated for their loss and provided with the fund to buy new fishing equipment,” he says.

The campaign that started in Kochi has covered Thrissur and Alappuzha districts and after Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram will be covered. The project will work with coastal district administrations to encourage them to adopt the whale shark as their mascot, as was done in Gujarat. “As the campaign comes to a close, fishing communities are expected to voluntarily release whale sharks that have been accidentally trapped in their nets,” he says.