AHMEDABAD: Gujarat can take pride in driving the success of a conservation project that has rescued 1,689 whale sharks – the largest fish on earth – from the fishermen’s nets in the past 16 years. The highest number of rescues were carried out in the state in 2019-20 when 781 whale sharks were released into the sea.
The Whale Shark Conservation Project, a joint venture of the Gujarat Forest Department, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Tata Chemicals Ltd (TCL), spreads awareness on the plight of the species and its protected status among the coastal communities in the state. The project has turned the fishermen into protectors of the whale shark and brought about a change in their attitude towards the species.
The Whale Shark Conservation Project, a joint venture of the Gujarat Forest Department, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Tata Chemicals Ltd (TCL), spreads awareness on the plight of the species and its protected status among the coastal communities in the state. The project has turned the fishermen into protectors of the whale shark and brought about a change in their attitude towards the species.
“When the project began in 2004, there were apprehensions about its execution. In the initial years, a few fishermen agreed to join in. Involvement of community and religious leaders has helped immensely,” said a forest official.
Whale sharks, which come to Gujarat coasts from Australian and African waters, were brutally hunted along the shores as their meat is quite popular in China and Europe.
“On an average 50-60 whale sharks are rescued every year. Each rescue has to be recorded as video and photographs and only then are the claims cleared,” he said.
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