Officials lay stress on whale shark protection

August 31, 2015 12:00 am | Updated March 29, 2016 06:14 pm IST - KAKINADA:

The government is considering compensating fishermen, who had their nets damaged by whale sharks, according Fisheries Commissioner Ram Shankar Naik.

He was participating as the chief guest at the International Whale Shark Day celebrations organised by EGREE Foundation, an initiative of the Union government and the UNDP, at JNTUK Alumni Auditorium here on Sunday.

Students, marine scientists and fishermen attended the function.

Observing that there has been a steep rise in the number of whale sharks in the seacoast of East Godavari district, Mr. Naik said Gujarat had pioneered in the protection of whale sharks by banning the sale and export of their meat and paying ex gratia to fishermen who left their nets at sea whenever they found the species in their nets.

“Similar practices should be adopted here to protect sharks,” he said, adding that compensation for damaged fishing nets would be announced soon.

Mr. B.C. Choudhury, Advisor to the Wildlife Trust of India, said the organisation would enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Forest Department for conducting a survey on whale sharks along the AP coast. “A multi-pronged strategy has been adopted in Gujarat to protect sharks. Similar practices have to be implemented here without any delay. Otherwise, whale sharks might get extinct soon,” he said.

EGREE Foundation director K. Tulasi Rao said the foundation had taken up a survey on whale sharks two years ago and had found that 72 species had been killed on the Kakinada coast after being caught by the fishermen during the period. He said a weeklong awareness programme had been launched to mark the International Whale Shark Day and that it covered several coastal villages and educational institutions as part of the awareness drive.

Govt. to compensate fishermen whose nets were damaged by whale sharks

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