Off the hook?

GENTLE giant of the sea, the whale shark, has finally been included in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act. The largest living fish, varying in size from 8 to 12m, it is also the first fish to get protection under the act. But there are so many wild species under the protective umbrella of various legislation, that the question one needs to ask is how will the Government ensure that the wanton killing of the whale shark ends with its listing? Equally important, ways and means have to be found to rehabilitate fishermen living around Veraval in Gujarat who have thrived on catching the whale fish.

While giving full marks to the Environment and Forest Ministry for the move, pressure has to be maintained to ensure that protection is not limited to what is said on a scrap of paper. We have tigers, lion and bears on the protected list, but look at what is happening to them.

Additional IG-Wildlife in the Environment and Forest Ministry, Mr. S. C. Sharma, however, is hopeful that the slaughter will be contained. He is planning a meeting at Veraval with the Coast Guard and officials. The Director-General, Foreign Trade, has also been asked to put whale shark meat on the negative list. In 1997, 120 tons of frozen shark meat were exported to the United States, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland and Spain.

Once whale shark meat is on the negative list, exports are expected to come down. Experience, however, shows that when legal measures are applied, the killing as well as the export goes underground. This has happened in the case of snake skin, ivory and umpteen other wildlife products. However, there is of course the possibility of the whale shark being passed off as the meat of some other fish.

In fact in April 2000 the Government sought to provide the whale shark protection under CITES at a meeting in Nairobi. But the lobby of countries consuming whale shark meat, headed by Japan, was too powerful. However, well known wildlife enthusiast Mr. Ranjitsinh, is hopeful.

Is it possible to rehabilitate the large number of fisherfolk of the region as promoters of eco-tourism? The idea has immense possibilities but Veraval and the surrounding coastline where a large number of these giant fish can be sighted will have to be turned into a marine park or sanctuary. So people coming to Gujarat to see the Gir lions can also include in their travel plans a visit to the home of the whale fish.

In fact as a species of fish, the whale shark comes under the purview of the Food Processing Ministry. But after the killing of some 700 whale sharks last year, the ministry felt compelled to offer protection, says Mr. Sharma. But championing the cause of this endangered giant fish have been film maker Mike Pandey and Fahmeeda Hanfee, who did an excellent report for the World Wide Fund for Nature on trade in whale shark off the coast of Gujarat. For three years Pandey tracked the giants, off the coast of Gujarat, and produced a wonderful film "Shores of Silence" - Whale sharks in India" that won him the Green Oscar last year.

This January, Fahmeeda's report was published and the details of slaughter and the export figures were alarming. It was from 1996- 1997 that the first survey was carried out by TRAFFIC-India (Trade Record Analysis of Flora and Fauna in Commerce) along the coast - West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It revealed the large scale fishing of whale sharks for their meat, fins, liver, skin and cartilage.

Just how mammoth a task is confronting the agencies protecting the fish can be guaged from the report. In 1992, Gujarat had 46 registered exporters of fish, 1,426 fishing vessels, 41 freezing plants, 43 cold storage facilities and 16 other cold storage facilities. The State has 1,40,208 fishermen (subsistence and commercial) of whom 52,388 are full-time. Of the over two lakh fishing vessels, 4,283 are motorised traditional crafts.

Fahmeeda says sharks grow slowly, mature late, have a small number of young and live for many years. Shark stocks are vulnerable to over-fishing.

Whale sharks are found largely on the west coast through a few have been reported east too. Most of the catches occur between March and June though seasonal occurrences have been reported in other months too. This piece of information should be useful in alerting the protective agencies on when they should increase vigilance.

Once a whale shark is sighted, the fishermen shoot a large hook/harpoon weighing 8 to 10 kg at its mouth. This gets attached to the lip or the shoulder of the shark, above the gills. Simultaneously another fisherman inserts a hook attached to a bamboo pole into its pectoral fin. The normally docile fish becomes agitated and dives, swimming away from the boat and dragging it along. The engine of the boat is switched off and the boat is allowed to be towed along for a while. Then the engine is restarted and runs at full speed. This continuous effort lasts for six to seven hours till the fish is exhausted and towed to the shore/landing centre. The fish is cut in large chunks even while afloat. The liver is removed for oil extraction and consumed locally. The meat is distributed to agents and middlemen for processing and export.

TRAFFIC India's survey revealed that between 1999-2000, 600 whale sharks were caught, the smallest catch two metres long and 0.5 tons and the largest 14.5 metres (12 tons). In December 2000, 145 whale sharks were caught - such high catches are normally not recorded in winter. The fishermen told Fehmeeda that they had found a school of about 300 to 500 whale sharks in the area and had headed for it.

Whale shark fishing proved to be a boon to the fishermen of Gujarat from the late 1980s. Other fish catch off the coast of Saurashtra was declining and the Philippines, Taiwan, the Maldives and the U.S. had banned their whale shark fishery, presumably to sustain and conserve their stocks. Overseas demand for supplies from India shot up and exporters realised it was good business.

While exporters in India sell fresh, frozen meat at Rs. 40 and Rs. 70 a kg, in Taiwan it sells for $15 (Rs. 750) per kg. Every part of the whale shark (from cartilage to leather) fetches a high price. Depending on the size, a set of four fins alone fetch Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 30,000, depending on the size.

To break up this well organised fishing industry will indeed be a challenge.

USHA RAI

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