A examine reveals the world inhabitants of sharks and rays have crashed by over 70% in the previous 5 a long time. But a couple of conservation initiatives in India present that well-crafted insurance policies and consciousness programmes could make a distinction
Two a long time in the past, the coastal communities of Gujarat knew the ‘barrel,’ however not the whale shark. It was a generally used title for the fish, not as a result of of its dimension however as a result of harpoons and barrels had been used whereas searching it. But in the present day, they’re known as vhali which suggests “dear one” in Gujarati. The change in notion is because of the conservation efforts of Wildlife Trust of India.
A current examine printed in Nature, one of the world’s main science journals, states that the world inhabitants of sharks and rays have crashed by over 70% in the previous 5 a long time. According to a report by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, India is now the second largest shark fishing nation in the world, following Indonesia. This makes present-day, grassroots conservation efforts — by NGOs and State Forest Departments alike — all the extra worthy of the highlight.
Starting steps
It was in 2001 that, in a conservation try, whale sharks had been included in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972, rendering the seize and killing of the fish a cognisable offence. It was the first-ever species to be protected below this Act, after which the Ganges shark (Glyphis gangeticus) and speartooth shark (Glyphis glyphis) had been added to it.
Sajan John, head of marine tasks at Wildlife Trust of India, provides, “However, enforcing the fishing regulations for these sharks was not straightforward, as whale sharks were usually hauled in as bycatch when fishermen were targeting economically benefiting species. The meat of whale sharks is not very edible, it is the liver that is the most important for commercial trade, while oil from the fish is used for water-proofing boats.”
Despite the safety, whale shark landings had been widespread on India’s West coast, particularly in Gujarat.
This is when Wildlife Trust of India, determined to launch consciousness and conservation programmes in the State to coach the fishermen about the species. “The decision of protecting the species was taken at an apex level but the information never trickled down to the fishermen. That is why we launched our Whale Shark Conservation Programme in Junagadh in 2004 and thereafter spread to Gir Somnath, Porbandar and Dwarka,” explains Sajan.
Workshops had been carried out in villages and avenue performs had been written and enacted to convey the penalties of searching whale sharks. “We also roped in leaders from local communities to head our campaigns so that we did not look like outsiders calling them out for their practices,” provides Sajan.
Due to the constant efforts of WTI, whale shark landings in Gujarat decreased and fishermen began releasing the fish throughout unintentional encounters. But, the sharks that had been saved in Gujarat had been hunted down South on the coasts of Maharashtra, Kerala and Lakshadweep. “Once we realised this, we launched awareness campaigns in Kerala and Lakshadweep. Like Gujarat, we have street plays in coastal villages and have been part of carnivals to raise awareness. It is due to these efforts that the last whale shark landing from Gujarat was reported in 2005 and the incidents have reduced drastically in Kerala and Lakshadweep. Since 2007, the fishermen in Gujarat have reported spotting of over 50 whale pups. We are now geo-tagging these fishes to know their whereabouts,” he provides.
Meanwhile, on the East coast, the Forest Department of Andhra Pradesh together with The East Godavari River Estuarine Ecosystem (EGREE) has been conducting consciousness programmes and workshops to coach fishing communities since 2013.
“In 2015, a survey was conducted in almost 500 fishing villages and hamlets across the State about whale shark sightings. In the process, over 650 fishermen were interviewed of which 90% knew about the whale shark, 50% had seen the fish and over 11% had seen a pup,” says C Selvam, Deputy Conservator of Forests (WL), Eluru.
Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam are main shark touchdown areas in the State.
Blacktip sharks, bull sharks, pelagic and big-eye thresher shark, clean and scalloped hammerhead, and tiger sharks are the species which are hunted continuously on these coasts. “Of these, several species like smooth and scalloped hammerhead are classified as threatened species by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Scalloped hammerheads are categorised on the IUCN Red List as globally endangered,” provides Selvam.
Long highway forward
Irrespective of their dimension or habitat, people have discovered a approach to hunt most of the sharks and use each half of them.
The pores and skin is used for leather-based which is made into boots and luggage, and liver for oil. The fins had been earlier harvested for shark fin soup, a sought-after delicacy in Southeast Asia and China. However, exporting shark fins was banned in India in 2015. It was simpler elevating consciousness about whale sharks as the fish is protected below the Wildlife (Protection) Act however this might not be finished for others.
Adding to this Sajan says, “The basic question that fishermen ask is whether it is illegal to kill the fish and when the answer is no, we have lost the battle there. We need to have more species under the Act so that we can save them from extinction.”
