Fishermen saviour of whale sharks

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN/Rajkot: Myths about whale sharks have made them look like voracious predators. However, the fact remains that whale sharks at the Gujarat coastline are at the mercy of fishermen who in recent years have played the role of their protectors, much to the joy of wildlife lovers.
As many as 34 whale sharks were released voluntarily by the fishermen in April and May alone this year. The fishermen communities, particularly the Kharvas, released 26 whale sharks at Veraval mid-sea and another eight at Jamavada sea — these had accidentally got caught in fishing nets.
Forest officials say the numbers of release of whale sharks will see an increase this year. The fishermen intimate forest officials immediately whenever a whale shark gets caught in their nets in mid-sea. The officials then take the help of fishermen in the rescue operation, enabling the trapped whale shark to swim free again.
“Fishing has been officially stopped due to the ensuing monsoon. It will now resume in October. However, by releasing 34 whale sharks in April and May, caught off Gujarat coast, the fishermen have shown a tremendous understanding about wildlife and the need to protect the rare species,” forest officials said.
The ‘save the whale sharks campaign’ was launched four years ago by spiritual leader Morari Bapu. The campaign run by Wildlife Trust of India and International Fund for Animal Welfare with support from Tata Chemicals Ltd and Gujarat Forest Department has left a huge impact on the fishermen community, yielding good results, says KR Vaghasia, range forest officer, Veraval.
The whale shark, which migrates in winters from Africa to Gujarat coast, was placed under schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act in 2001.
Vaghasia said in 2005-06 there were only two instances of release of whale sharks which by 2008-09 have gone on to touch the 99 mark. “This year we expect the number to cross 120’’, he said. “All mid-sea rescue operations are conducted with local fishermen’s assistance. The fishermen, whose fishing nets need to be cut to free the trapped whale sharks are given up to Rs 25,000 as compensation,” said IM Kureshi, RFO, Jamvada Range, also in Junagadh district. However, there is strong resentment among fishermen over the compensation amount.
“We are supporting the government in its ‘save the whale sharks campaign’ by making it a Kharva community initiative out of respect to Morari Bapu. However, the government has not kept its promise on compensation,” Jitendra Kuhada, a Kharva community leader in Veraval, told TOI.
“On many occasions the compensation paid was just Rs 5,000 though the actual loss suffered by a fisherman has been quite high. There is a need to raise the amount of compensation,” he added. Forest officials too are of the opinion that the policy on compensation should be reviewed in favour of fishermen.