Palghar fishermen rescue endangered 30-feet long whale shark trapped in net, release it

The dotted whale shark is the largest fish in the ocean and often called ‘Gentle Giant’ in fishing parlance. The local Koli community of Palghar reveres the whale shark and its sighting is considered to be auspicious.

Local fishermen safely released an endangered 30-feet long dotted whale shark,which got caught in their net during fishing, 12 nautical miles (1 nautical mile = 1.8 km) off Vadrai coast in Palghar early Tuesday morning.The whale shark, which is the largest fish in the ocean, is often titled ‘Gentle Giant’ in fishing parlance.

The dotted whale shark got entangled in the nets of fishermen off Vadrai coast in Palghar early on Tuesday morning. The fishermen worked carefully to disentangle the nets and released the fish into the sea.(HT Photo)

Hitendra Meher was at sea in his boat along with his employees around 4am Tuesday when they felt “huge jerks” in the fishing nets they had lain in the sea to catch fish. Upon inspection, the found a whale shark had got entangled in the nets. “The shark weighed around 900 kg and was 30 feet long and was dragging the fishing net laid to catch fish. We were shocked, as it was a rare sighting,” said Meher.

“My men worked carefully to disentangle the nets and after an hour of so of struggle, the shark wriggled free and returned to its natural habitat,” said Meher.

Professor Bhushan Bhoir,who teaches zoology at Palghar’s Dandekar College, said whale sharks are among the most docile fishes. “They are not predators and do not pose any threat to humans.They eat only small fish and plankton, which are diverse collection of organisms that live in oceans and seas, and are unable to swim against currents,” he said.

Due to climatic changes, their population faces a huge threat as poachers kill the whale shark for its meat, fin and oil, said Bhoir.

The local Koli community of Palghar reveres the whale shark and its sighting is considered to be auspicious,said Meher. “If the whale shark is spotted at sea, we believe that a good fishing season is in the offing and we have instructed our fellow fishermen not to kill or catch the shark. And if it is trapped in the nets, it has to be released back to the Arabian Sea,which is its natural habitat,” said Meher.