`Gentle giant' falls in fishermen's net

 

The whale-shark that was caught by local fishermen in Visakhapatnam on Monday and was sold to a local exporter. A giant whale-shark, belonging to a highly endangered species, fell in the dragnet of the fishermen of Vizag on Monday morning to meet its end. The rare marine species was a young male, over 15 feet long. A fully-grown whale-shark normally would be as long as 60 feet, making it the largest marine species. N.A. Varaprasada Reddy, marine biologist and Deputy Director of Andhra University's Academic Staff College said: "They call it as the `Gentle Giant of Sea.' It is absolutely harmless, has no teeth and preys on small prawns. The seasonal cold water current from Andaman Islands in April might have carried it to Visakhapatnam and the fishermen unwittingly trapped it,'' he said. The city fishermen use the shore seine, a huge dragnet attached to a three-kilometre long rope to catch species like the small stolephorus fish. A few members among a large group of about 30 go in a small boat into the waters and spread the net while the others pull it from the shore. On Monday, G. Simhachalam and company, who had laid the trap at a distance of a couple of kilometres away, found something big in the net and hauled it to the shore. The innocent male member of the docile, egg-laying fish, which normally travels on surface, fell on its back in the trap and died on the shore. Local fishermen normally don't catch whales. Even if they do, they let them off, like they reportedly did last month. With the whale-shark falling on the shore, they sold it to a seafood company following which the personnel of the company descended on the scene and got to work digging out the meat. "Because we don't eat the meat, we sold it for a couple of thousands of rupees. Normally, such fish are sold for a couple of lakhs. It is a sort of a mistaken identity that we felled it,'' said one of the fishermen in the group. "Next time we spot a gentle giant, we will ensure that it is given safe passage.'' By Prabhakara Sarma B in Visakhapatnam Photo: K.R.Deepak © Copyright 2000 - 2004 The Hindu

Date:27/04/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/lf/2004/04/27/stories/2004042703150200.htm