Five-year research project on Whale Shark off Saurashtra coast

November 18, 2008
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Five-year research project on Whale Shark off Saurashtra coast
Ahmedabad, DeshGujarat, 18 November, 2008





The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in collaboration with the state Forests and Environment Department and the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) of Goa will conduct the five-year research to study whale shark habitat, map their migration, various aspects of their life cycles and genetic patterns off the Saurashtra coast. The research programme will be funded by Tata Chemicals which has created a corpus of Rs two crore.

Satellite tagging technology to monitor the movement of the Whale Shark is planned under this research project, provided the scientific advisory committee approves of it. The scientific board will meet on November 26 to decide on the technology to be used.

With the commitment shown by the local fishing community for whale shark conservation in the coastal region of Saurasthra, a group of fishermen will be specially trained for project. Fishermen will collect samples from underneath the sea. They will also be taught how to click photographs of whale sharks using underwater cameras.

The pictures will be used to create photo identification of the whales visiting the coast of Gujarat. Since the fishermen spent most of the time in the sea, it will be easy to get visuals of the fish if we train them in photography.

The research will be carried out in a phased manner over five years.



It was this film that created awareness on whale Shark conservation in India

This film by Mike Pande created awareness on need for conservation of Whale Shark in India. After this film won 11 international award, the government of India banned killings of whale sharks in the country. Before this film, it was legal to catch and kill whale sharks.

Gujarat’s saint Morari Bapu also got involved in ‘Save the Whale Shark campaign’ after some time. His religiously conveyed message convinced Gujarat’s fishermen community to conserve the whale sharks.

Gujarat’s fishermen have saved more than 70 whale shark then-after. While active in fishing whenever a whale shark is caught in their net they cut down costly net in mid-sea to make whale shark free.

It takes 40 men to rescue the mammal, by cutting the fishing net at several places entailing a loss of about Rs 50,000, before it could be released.

Whale sharks are one of the beautiful sea mammals, locally known as barrel fish, found off Saurashtra coast during November-March every year, when the sea water temperature is 20-25 degrees Celsius and there is plenty of phyto plankton to eat.

While a fully grown whale shark weighs 5-6 tonnes, its liver is about 10 per cent of its body weight.

Whale Skeleton will talk to you in Ahmedabad’s Science City


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