Sutrapada: History repeated itself when yet another whale shark that was trapped in fishing nets off the coast of Gujarat was rescued in a joint operation conducted by the Gujarat Forest Department and the Department of Fisheries with the expert assistance of local fishermen.

On 16th December, a call made by the Sutrapada forest guard B. A. Mahida to the Range Forest Officer Babaria catalysed a never-before rescue operation into action.

Three fishermen in a small boat 15 nautical miles into the sea had found a 35 ft whale shark entangled in its gill nets. The men were aware of the protected status of this fish following an intensive awareness campaign conducted by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and its partner Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) over the last two years. They sent a message to mainland Sutrapada, which was taken by local fisherman Ramesh Baria, who alerted J. K Rathod, Jalsevak of the fisheries department and B. A. Mahida, a forest guard.

Babaria mobilized the department of fisheries and a rescue team set off in a fiberglass boat owned by a local fisherman Dilip Solanki.

Recalling the dramatic rescue operation, Solanki says, “The fish was too large for the three fishermen to handle on their own. It remained trapped for about five hours in the fishing net and it took forty men and yet another two hours of nerve-wrecking drama in the high sea to finally release it.”

Adds Solanki, “I was anxious that the fish stayed unharmed. The loss of my nets, worth Rs 40000/- seemed insignificant when the life of this fish was at stake.”

The fishermen had to climb on the giant fish to untangle the nets. The gentle giant displayed signs of restlessness after its long confinement and rescue men had to be extra cautious to ensure that is stayed unharmed even as it thrashed its tail in irritation at times.

The rescue team remained at the release spot to look for signs of any trouble but when the whale shark dived deep into the sea and apparently moved away, they left satisfied that their efforts were not in vain.

The success of the campaign to save the whale shark and make it the pride of Gujarat was first realized last year when the crew of a fishing boat cut its nets to save a whale shark in October. Wildlife Trust of India and its partner Tata Chemicals Ltd. recognized this laudable act and hoped that this would set a precedent among the fishermen, who so often find whale sharks entangled in their nets between October and March.

This heartening story of the three men in a boat who called for help deserves to be as much lauded when they recalled the conservation message carried by the awareness campaign and acted in a manner expected out of true conservationists. This is even more laudable when Sutrapada is so close to Veraval, which was once a commercial harvesting field when whale sharks were once hunted mercilessly off the coast of Gujarat.

Pix credit: Gujarat Forest Department