CHENNAI: In a rarest of rare sightings, around 20 whale sharks have reportedly made the shore near Chennai their temporary home, giving fishermen a daily dose of thrills and chills. Experts say they are attracted by artificial reefs which have become their feeding ground.
“Over 20 individuals of whale sharks have been moving up and down the Chennai coast for the past one week. They were sighted by fishermen in Pulicat, Semmencherry, Chinnandi and Kovalam. Until 6 years back, they were sighted predominantly on the West Coast, but off-late they are being sighted along the East Coast, especially Tamil Nadu. The artificial reefs sites have become their feeding ground,” Joe K Kizhakudan, scientist at Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), told TNIE.
Among the group, one juvenile whale shark surfaced just a few metres from the Neelankarai beach. The photographs shared by Tree Foundation, an NGO working on turtle conservation, shows the shark causally swimming around unmindful of human presence. The sand beach and buildings were visible in the background.
TA Pugalarasan, a member of the sea protection force at Tree Foundation, said the fishermen of Periya Neelankarai informed them about the presence of over 20 whale sharks off their coast at 10 am on June 9. Around 4 pm, the fishermen noticed a lone juvenile shark very close to the coast.
“I went to see whether the shark was entangled. It was about 15-18 feet long. Its tail and dorsal fin were clearly visible. After observing the shark for a while, I dived into the water to check whether there were any injuries, but was unable to make out anything due to rough sea conditions and murky waters. The shark was again spotted on Saturday and the water was clear. There were no injuries,” Pugalarasan said.
Experts say the whale shark spectacle near Chennai would end in another couple of days as the annual fishing ban would end on June 14 and thousands of trawlers boats would sail into the sea. Since there is no disturbance now, the whale sharks are safely moving around and having fun.
Despite their immense size, whale sharks pose no threat to humans. They feed by swimming through nutrient-rich water with its huge mouth open, and through a filtration process captures large quantities of zooplankton and phytoplankton, krill, roe, small crustaceans, squid and fish.
Kizhakudan said it will be interesting to study how the whale sharks know there is availability of food here. “Such a large colony of whale sharks, comprising four mothers and around 16 juveniles, was never recorded in Tamil Nadu before. If we can geo-tag a few individuals and study, it would give us interesting insights into their migration pattern.”
SB Arvind Tharunsri, director, Temple Adventures in Pondicherry, told TNIE he has documented whale shark movement twice this year near Pondicherry artificial reef sites.