NAGAPATTINAM: A whale shark weighing over a tonne and measuring around 10 metres washed ashore in Vettaru estuary on Friday.
Sources said it got caught in the net of a Pattinachery fisherman. He, however, denied catching it. The whale shark had a ‘shine of freshness’ and visible stains of blood on its body, raising doubts on how it could have landed in the estuary, next to the boat dock by itself, rather than washing ashore on the beach off Nagore.
A senior official in the Fisheries department official said, “We suspect the fishers could have dropped the fish in the estuary close to the boat dock after catching it and after they were told they should not have caught it and brought it to the shore. We are investigating the issue.”
S Kalanithi, the district forest officer of Nagapattinam, said, “The whale shark is a vulnerable species and is protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The fishers should not catch it and should release it if it's caught accidentally. The fish should not be contaminated by any means if it washes ashore. The whale shark should be buried after conducting an autopsy.”
Meanwhile, the shark’s remains remained in the estuary till late on Friday night. The fishers were told
not to touch it. A lot of people, including school children, visited Pattinachery to see the behemoth.