The Wildlife Trust of India is starting a year-long campaign for whale shark conservation along Karnataka, Kerala and Lakshadweep coasts.
International Whale Shark Day has been observed on 30 August each year since 2008 after a group of experts declared it so at an international whale shark conference. (Creative Commons)
When a team from Wildlife Trust of India, and officials from the fisheries and forest departments landed in a village with a life-size inflatable whale shark, everyone became curious and gathered around. A 40-foot-long animal replica would surely elicit interest.
Some of the fishers knew what it was. But for most of the villagers, it inspired awe and mystery. And a feeling of woe to learn that the plastics that they discard might harm these large marine creatures.
That is precisely why the teams are on a mission to create awareness and promote conservation efforts. They are starting a year-long campaign on Tuesday, 30 August, along the coasts of Karnataka, Kerala and Lakshadweep.
The date has significance: It has been observed as International Whale Shark Day since 2008 after a group of experts declared it so during an international whale shark conference.
The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a type of shark. In fact, it is the largest fish on earth. It grows to about
40 feet in length and weighs around 11 tonnes.
It earned the additional name “whale” because of its large size and feeding pattern, which is similar to that of whales. Just like some whales, whale sharks feed on small marine organisms called plankton.
They are smaller than some species of whales, like the sperm whale which measures more than 70 feet, or the blue whale which measures more than 100 feet.
The largest recorded whale shark measured 65 feet and weighed 42 tonnes.
“But whale shark pups measure just 56 cm,” said Charan K Paidi, assistant manager at the Whale Shark Conservation Project of Wildlife Trust of India.
The whale shark is a key species in helping keep marine ecosystems in balance. (Creative Commons)
Though there is no definitive number on the population of whale sharks, EDGE of Existence — a programme to conserve evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered (EDGE) species — estimates it to be between 1.19 lakh and 2.38 lakh.
It has a circumtropical distribution, meaning it is found through the tropical and temperate seas.
“It’s migratory in nature, travelling along tropical regions. India doesn’t have a resident population. It comes to India’s coasts — especially Gujarat — in winter to feed and breed,” said Paidi. “The Gujarat coast abounds in krills after the monsoon, attracting whale sharks that feed on them.”
Along the Gujarat coast, five pups and three pre-juveniles have been observed in the last eight years,
according to Paidi. He recollected satellite-tagging eight whale sharks.
“One of them went to Lakshadweep and then to the Maldives and close to the Somalia coast. When it returned, we lost the signal. Another went along the Oman coast before we lost signal,” he said, indicating their migratory pattern along warm waters.
Though sited often, the whale sharks remain a mystery even to the scientific community.
“We don’t know many details about them, like for how long they live, where they mate, or where they give birth,” said Paidi.
“With satellites, we have observed that they go deeper than 1,000 feet. We don’t know why. Because, at that depth, the water is cold; and they prefer warmer waters. And they are believed to live for more than 125 years,” he tells South First.
Only in the mid-90s did scientists find out that whale sharks were ovoviviparous. i.e., the young ones develop in eggs, but the mother does not lay eggs. When the eggs hatch, they remain inside the mother. Then, when the mother gives birth, the pups travel with the mother.
A whale shark caught in a trawler fishing net near Veraval in Gujarat. (South First)
“Whale sharks end up as accidental catches in fishing nets,” said Thoothukudi-based Vinoth S Ravindran, the Kerala coordinator for NETFISH-MPEDA. Sometimes they collide with fishing vessels.
When large whale sharks get caught in smaller fishing nets, they can tear away, given their size. But the pups — being very small — get entangled and cannot survive.
Whale sharks are filter feeders, keeping their mouths open while swimming, and eating small plants and marine animals. Increasing plastic pollution in the oceans poses a grave danger to whale sharks, especially because of their feeding habit.
The whale shark is a key species in helping keep marine ecosystems in balance.
“It’s also a pollutant indicator. If the waters are very polluted, there won’t be phyto- and zoo-planktons. And then the whale sharks won’t come,” explained Paidi.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), whale sharks are believed to serve as vectors, transporting nutrients from coastal waters to nutrient-poor marine sites. They also serve as habitats for fishes such as remoras.
The IUCN has listed the whale shark as an endangered species in its red list of threatened species.
“India brought it under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, thus protecting it,” Ravindran told South First. “It’s already endangered. If we don’t take efforts now to conserve, they might go extinct.”
Gujarat introduced the first conservation efforts in 2004 when Priem Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister. The Wildlife Trust of India and the Gujarat Forest Department partnered with Tata Chemicals and created awareness among fishermen.
Ravindran recollected the contribution of popular religious leader Morari Bapu, who likened the whale sharks coming to the Gujarat shores for breeding to the daughter coming to her paternal home for childbirth, and hence encouraged fishers to welcome the animals and offer protection.
“Gujarat also introduced compensation for nets damaged while releasing whale sharks,” recalled Ravindran.
Paidi explained that the 2,000 reel cameras they give fishers about 10 years ago were not effective in documenting the release of whale sharks from damaged nets.
After a survey on mobile phone use among fishers, the team developed a mobile application. It helps fishers take 20-second videos as proof of their release, enabling them to get compensation for their damaged nets.
This application helps pin the coordinates of the rescue and also documents other kinds of megafauna, helping scientists collect data.
“Since 2004, when the first rescue happened, we have rescued and released 852 whale sharks,” said Paidi.
And WTI, with the support of Oracle and state departments, hopes to replicate the success in the rest of the western coast during its awareness campaign.
May 05, 2024
May 05, 2024
May 05, 2024
May 05, 2024
May 05, 2024
May 05, 2024
