CHENNAI: Two days after a juvenile whale shark weighing over a tonne was caught and killed in Kanniyakumari, forest officials detained three persons on Friday.
On January 26, a Colachel fisherman Malbin, accidentally netted the whale shark as a bycatch. Instead of safely releasing the animal back into the sea, he pulled it to the shore. Later, Malbin with the help of co-accused Varghese and Mebison auctioned the fish reportedly for Rs 1 lakh.
It was in 2001, whale sharks were included in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972, rendering capture and killing it a cognisable offense. It was the first-ever species to be protected under this Act, after which the Ganges shark (Glyphis gangeticus) and speartooth shark (Glyphis glyphis) were added.
All parts of the fish (meat, fins, liver, cartilage, skin, and viscera) were earlier used commercially, and the main processing centre was Veraval in Gujarat. However, it is the liver that is most important in the commercial trade, while oil from the fish is used for water-proofing boats.
When contacted, Kanniyakumari district forest officer M Ilyaraja told TNIE a case has been booked under Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and all three accused are detained despite stiff resistance from the fishermen community. "They are claiming the animal weighed about 500 kg, but based on the video footage and photos it would easily weigh about a tonne. We examined CCTV footage and identified the vehicle which transported the fish. The accused are not revealing the details of where it was killed and sold. A detailed investigation will be conducted and the accused will be produced before the magistrate on Saturday."