Veraval, 23rd December, 2024: A male whale shark was satellite tagged, 3.6 NM offshore of the Veraval Harbour, by WTI’s field team, marking the 11th such tagging exercise for the world’s largest fish along Gujarat’s coast. The fish was reported to have been accidentally entangled in fishing nets.

In keeping with this protocol, an OBM fisherman named Ganesh Devjibhai Varidum reported the incident to  the WTI team at 8.35 AM on Sunday and the field team reached the location by 9.25 AM. The whale shark, about 26-28 feet in length, was in good health and quite active. A SPOT PPT 253485 satellite tag was attached to the dorsal fin of the individual, before it was released back into the ocean. Appreciating the efforts, the Chief Conservator of Forests, Junagadh Office, quoted that “A Whale Shark (Vhali) was successfully rescued and tagged for research purposes by Junagadh Forest Division (Gujarat Forest Department) and Wildlife Trust of India at Veraval harbour on 22nd December, 2024. This will help to understand the science behind whale shark movements and migration from Gujarat waters.”

11th whale shark tagging along Indian waters offshore Veraval, Gujarat | Photo by Mohit Bambhaniya

Mr. Y.S. Kalsariya (Range Forest Officer, Veraval), Dr. Vishal Chavda (veterinary officer, Junagadh Forest Department) and Mr. Mohanbhai Bharavala (Head, Veraval OBM boat association), accompanied the team during the operation. The transmitter is programmed to work in the duty cycle of every day for the first 30 days, we expect to receive regular transmissions, whenever the animal gets on the surface and the satellite passes through. The team has already received the first signals by Monday morning, with the individual reported to have migrated 7.194 NM towards the open waters of the Arabian Sea.

“Gujarat coast hosts a preferred aggregation ground for whale sharks, especially females that have been reported to give birth. This collaboration between WTI and the Gujarat Forest Department will consequently be crucial for the protection of the species.” says, Farukhkha Bloch, Project Head, PAN India Whale Shark Project, WTI.

This tagging exercise is aimed at better understanding the biological preferences of the world’s largest fish and also studying its movement patterns. Since the launch of the Whale Shark Conservation Project in Gujarat in 2004, 958 whale sharks have been rescued and released from accidental entanglements along its  coasts, by local fishermen. This year also marks 20-years of collaboration between WTI, the Gujarat Forest Department and Tata Chemicals Limited to protect the whale sharks in the state of Gujarat.