Endangered whale shark caught in fishing net released back into the sea

Team Udayavani, Oct 26, 2021, 11:40 AM IST

Mangaluru: An endangered whale shark, that was accidentally caught in a fishing net was released back into the sea here on Tuesday, October 26.

The fishing boat ‘Sagar’ had left from Bunder here for the fishing expedition. As the fishermen pulled the fishing net, they realized that the whale shark, weighing more than 1500 kgs was trapped in the net.

Later they released it back into the Arabian Sea.

A video of the catch was recorded on a mobile phone.

As part of a conservation attempt, whale sharks were included in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972, in the year 2001. Accordingly, the capture and killing of the fish is a cognisable offence. It was the first-ever species to be protected under this Act