The Government of India has followed the example of the USA, Australia, the Philippines and other countries by declaring the whale shark a protected species and banning the whale shark trade. The shark (Rhincodon typus) is the largest living fish in the world with the largest so far having a recorded length of 18 metres. The species has just been included in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972, rendering the capture and killing of the fish a cognisable offence. For a fully updated list of species protected under the Act see New Schedules.
The whale shark, the first fish species to be included in the Act, is hunted in large numbers off the Gujarat coast, for export to South-East Asia, Japan, the UK, and the USA. According to wildlife film maker Mike Pandey, who has won the Green Oscar for his film on the species, 1,200 of them were killed during the recent six-week fishing season. The fish is found in all tropical and warm temperate seas other than the Mediterranean.
All parts of the fish (the meat, fins, liver, cartilage, skin, and viscera) are used commercially, and the main processing centre is Veraval in Gujarat. However, it is the liver that is the most important item in the commercial trade, while oil from the fish is used for water-proofing boats. The government was until now reluctant to extend protection to the species, for two reasons: first, fisheries is a subject handled by the Ministry of Agriculture and not the Ministry of Environment and Forests; and second, because officials were not sure they would be able to enforce any protective law.
WTI suggests that two strategies be followed, both of which can help convert the fishermen of Gujarat into protectors of the whale shark. First, they can be encouraged to turn into vigilante groups and take up whale shark watching. Secondly, the habitat of the fish off the Gujarat coast can be turned into a marine sanctuary, and if "dive tourism" is simultaneously developed, it can provide an alternative livelihood to the fishermen, just as Australia has done.
