Volunteer rescue group saves beached whale sharks along Thiruvananthapuram city’s coastline

Marine wildlife conservator Ajith Shanghumughom and fellow fishers make efforts to rescue a giant whale shark that washed ashore the beach of Kochuveli in Thiruvananthapuram on March 4th.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A volunteer rescue group of young marine wildlife enthusiasts is saving whale sharks stranded on Thiruvananthapuram’s beaches with surprisingly increasing regularity this summer.

Ajith Shanghumughom, a Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) conservator who heads the group, points out that summer is the sharks’ migratory season. While the whale sharks are imposing in size, they are the gentle giants of the deep. He notes that the whale sharks are filter feeders with vestigial teeth, not large marine predators like tiger sharks. Their seasonal migration from the Arabian Sea to Australia’s western coast begins in January and concludes in March.

Since 2021, the group has rescued 23 whale sharks stranded along the contiguous beaches of Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari district in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. 

Ensnared in nets

Fishers say that the whale sharks often get ensnared in nets cast by them off the coast of Shanghumughom. They make the hard choice of cutting the nets loose to free the trapped whale sharks. 

The volunteer group says online video tutorials about rescuing beached whale sharks helped. Whales often play dead when they get accidentally beached to ward off likely predators. Fishers frequently presume them dead and prepare to dispose of the carcasses safely. At Kochuveli beach last week, the group intervened quickly to save a beached whale shark mistakenly thought to be dead by local fishers. 

“We discerned tail muscle pulses and initiated the operation, which lasted over 10 hours. Whale sharks pose no threat to humans. But rescuers are mindful that a mighty lash from the shark’s heavily muscled tail can sometimes be fatal,” a WTI member says. 

Marine poachers extensively hunted whale sharks for their fins and flesh, which are regarded as a delicacy in China and other Asian countries. In 2001, the Union government outlawed the hunting of whale sharks, and in 2019, it banned the export of dried shark fins and meat. The government also declared ₹25,000 in compensation for fishers who lose their nets while freeing whale sharks. 

Ecological importance

The whale shark rescue group also visits schools and colleges in the city, teaching students about marine wildlife conservation and sensitising local fishers to the ecological importance of conserving endangered sea life forms.

Local fishers, the Forest department and the WTI are assisting the group’s efforts. 

A. Bijukumar, Professor and Head of the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries at the University of Kerala, says conservation efforts have paid off. “Deep seas are difficult to survey. But there seems to be a marked increase in whale shark activity off the country’s coast, signalling a possible rise in their population.”