KARACHI, May 16: A juvenile whale shark, which got trapped in a net near Sonmiani Bay in Balochistan, has been successfully released by fishermen.

World Wide Fund of Nature (WWF) officials said on Thursday that the 3.5-metre-long whale shark got entangled in the gillnet during tuna fishing near Sapat area, part of Sonmiani Bay, two days ago. Captain of the vessel (Al-Saira) Mohammad Ismail and his crew took more than an hour to release the shark.

“Earlier, fishermen used to kill whale sharks for their liver oil used for smearing hull of fishing boats to keep it smooth and free of fouling animals. In February, fishermen killed a large female whale and brought its carcass to the Karachi Fish Harbour. It was later taken over by the government which created a lot of media hype,” said Mohammad Moazzam Khan, technical adviser (marine fisheries) of the WWF-Pakistan.

Pakistan, he said, was a signatory to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), an international treaty which listed whale sharks as an Appendix-II species that entailed their fishing under strict regulatory control.

He said sharks were used to be caught along Pakistan’s coast on a large commercial scale as well as for recreational purposes before independence, stopped in the 1960s.

“Fishermen still kill these animals for their liver and even meat (used for production of fish meal for poultry). But efforts are under way to create awareness among major stakeholders,” he said.

Rab Nawaz, WWF-P Karachi director, suggested that the species should be included in the Appendix-I of wildlife laws of Sindh and Balochistan to protect these gentle giants.

“Population of whale sharks is fast dwindling. There is no natural predator of this largest known fish. They are killed by fishing gears when they get entangled in them,” he said.

A whale shark, scientifically known as Rhincodon typus, is considered as an endangered animal across the world. It has been given a protected status by a number of countries, including India where they enjoy the same level of protection given to Indian rhinos, tigers and Asian elephants.

Whale sharks are occasionally reported from Pakistan’s offshore waters.