The Hindu Business Line : Gujarat plans survey on whale sharks visiting Saurashtra coast

WHALE sharks, a species that has recently been added to the endangered list, are known to visit the Saurashtra coast in Gujarat between March and May.

In an effort to map their movements along the Gujarat coast and determine their numbers, the State Wildlife Department has decided to launch a survey to study the giant creatures.

"Very little is known about these creatures except that they have been sighted along the Saurashtra coast after winters. Even internationally, very little is known about the whale shark's migration patterns. We plan to study why these gentle giants visit our coast and in what numbers," according to Mr Pradeep Khanna, a top forests and wildlife officer in the Gujarat Government. The survey would be carried out with the help of forest department officials and other agencies, Mr Khanna told Business Line.

Historically, whale sharks had been slaughtered by fishermen when they visited the Gujarat coast. Unofficial estimates by wildlife experts put the figure of nearly 500 whale sharks killed in Gujarat each year. But ever since the gentle shark species was included in the endangered list in 2001 and an awareness programme launched by the Wildlife Trust of India, the number of animals killed has declined considerably.

In fact, fishermen off the Dwarka coast released a whale shark after it got entangled in their nets last year. The towns of Diu, Porbandar, Dwarka and Okha have adopted the whale shark as their mascot.

A street play that depicts the whale shark as a "daughter returning to her father's home for a safe delivery of a child" has been trying to increase awareness about the creature, says Mr Dhiresh Joshi, Manager, Whale Shark campaign of the Wildlife Trust of India.

"Awareness about whale sharks is rather poor. We are not even sure as to why they visit the Gujarat coast from March to May. It is believed that they come here for mating, but there is very little scientific data to substantiate that," says Mr Joshi.

Whale sharks can grow up to 50 feet in length and are the largest shark species in the world. The species feeds on plankton and smaller fish and is not known to attack humans.

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