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Landings of whale sharks Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828 in Indian waters since protection in 2001 through the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

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Relation http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/9025/
 
Title Landings of whale sharks Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828
in Indian waters since protection in 2001 through
the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
 
Creator Akhilesh, K V
Rajool Shanis, C P
White, W T
Manjebrayakath, Hashim
Bineesh, K K
Ganga, U
Abdussamad, E M
Gopalakrishnan, A
Pillai, N G K
 
Subject Marine Biodiversity
Shark fisheries
 
Description Since 28 th May 2001, Whale shark Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828 have received the highest protected status for an animal in India through the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 Schedule-1. However, landings have still been recorded off the Indian coast since 2001, mostly as incidental bycatch in commercial fishing operations, and other sightings have also been reported. In the 1990’s, a targeted whale shark fishery existed off the Gujarat coast following increased demand for the flesh in some other Asian
countries. Since the ban, landings of whale sharks
have decreased substantially with only 79 recorded
between 2001 and 2011. Landings were recorded in
each year and in each month of the year with the
highest landings in January and February. Between
2001 and 2011, the smallest specimen reported from
Indian waters was a 94 cm TL individual and the
largest was a 13.7 m TL individual, with most individuals recorded in the 4–6 m TL size class. Small
juveniles of less than 3 m TL are rarely recorded in the
literature and appear to be rarely observed globally.
Between 2006 and 2011, seven juveniles of less than
3 m TL were recorded from two landing sites. Despite
the continued landing of whale sharks along the Indian
coasts since 2001, the protection of this species
appears to have substantially reduced the catches with
only incidental landings and strandings now evident.
The protection status of whale sharks in India is generally well understood by fishers, but still there is need
for further education regarding the current national
legislation and vulnerability of the species.
 
Publisher Kluwer
 
Date 2012
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Identifier http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/9025/1/Environmental_Biology_of_Fishes_Akhilesh.pdf
Akhilesh, K V and Rajool Shanis, C P and White, W T and Manjebrayakath, Hashim and Bineesh, K K and Ganga, U and Abdussamad, E M and Gopalakrishnan, A and Pillai, N G K (2012) Landings of whale sharks Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828 in Indian waters since protection in 2001 through the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 94 (3). pp. 1-10.