Veraval, April 9, 2015: In a step towards learning more about the world’s biggest fish, the whale shark, a female whale shark was successfully satellite-tagged near Veraval coastal town in Gir-Somanth district. With support from the Gujarat Government and Tata Chemicals Limited, this is the third whale shark that has been tagged by the WTI team in the recent months.

WTI team tagging the whale shark

Satellite tags across the world are used by various wildlife conservation organisations to track and study the movement of a targeted animal, thereby, helping them not only understand migration pattern of species, but also to conserve and secure the habitat that the animal uses.

At around 10:45 am on April 1, 2015, forest officers informed WTI team that a trawl operating fisherman reported that a whale shark has been entangled in his fishing net. Soon, forest officials and Prem Jothi, Marine Biologist, WTI, reached the spot. The regional media also accompanied the forest officials to report on the rescue and tagging exercise. Once the team reached the boat, the health of the whale shark was assessed and after that the process of tag deployment was initiated. Thereafter, WTI team and the forest department officials deployed the satellite tag and the whale shark was rescued and released.

WTI team tagging the whale shark

Professor BC Choudhury, Scientific Adviser to WTI, said that they had attempted fixing a floating tag to get more data. “The previous two tags were fin-mounted spot tags, but we had chosen floating spot tag this time to get more data about the whale sharks. Even if the fish remains under water at some depth, the transmitter remains on the surface of the water and transmits data with more frequency,” said Prof Choudhury.

The tagging is great feat for the team and those involved in conserving the world’s largest fish. The Whale Shark Conservation Project is funded by the Gujarat Government, Tata Chemicals Ltd and others. A joint initiative of the Gujarat Forest Department and WTI, this exercise is part of the initiative to gather more information on the species to help develop effective conservation strategies.

“The initiatives in Gujarat’s coastal area are ideal examples of how collaborative efforts of NGOs, Forest Department, corporate houses, communities and religious leaders can help save a magnificent species. I congratulate WTI team on achieving this rare feat,” said SJ Pandit, DCF, Junagadh.