Whale shark being tagged by WTI team
Sutrapada, May 25, 2015: Six whale sharks were rescued, of which, one was satellite tagged during this month. On May 9, 2015, a 20-feet female whale shark was successfully satellite-tagged off the Sutrapada coast. This is the fourth whale shark that has been tagged by the WTI team to understand the movement of this gentle giant.
Though the tag did not relay location IDs for the first five days, transmissions started from May 14, 2015. After this, movement was regularly monitored on ARGOS satellite tag monitoring system till May 25, 2015. Five days after deploying the tag, whale shark was located some 150 nm away from the location where it was released.
After that the transmission received showed a gradual movement towards waters of North Gujarat. Within 16 days the tagged whale shark travelled approximately 430 nm. On May 25, 2015, the deployed tag detached from the whale shark and drifted towards Bhuj and finally washed ashore at Pachotiya fishing village near Mandvi (Gulf of Kutch).
On May 25, 2015, WTI team received the last signal from the tag. Using the relayed geo-coordinates, WTI team reached Pachotiya fishing village near Mandvi to recover the tag. The team, along with Forest Department officials started enquiring about the lost tag with the help of photographs and after an exhaustive search in three villages — Pachotiya, Bhada and Nana layaja — the tag was located around 8 pm.
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.
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.
