KARACHI, Feb 8: The huge carcass of the whale shark continued to attract people from across the city on a second consecutive day to the harbour, where nominal charges were collected from visitors by the fishermen who claimed to have bought the fish until the relevant authorities on Wednesday declared the species a government property.

The officials said the government would compensate the fishermen, who had bought the fish, and would keep the specimen until research samples were taken to determine the exact cause of the fish’s death.

“To know what caused its death is very important so that we can take preventive measures, if there is a need,” said Abdul Ghani Jokhio, managing director of the Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA), after meeting marine fisheries department officials.

According to the information collected by his department, Mr Jokhio said, the fish was first found floating on the sea by the Maritime Security Agency (MSA), about 65 nautical miles from Manora, on Jan 27. “Subsequently, the agency warned fishermen and relevant departments about its presence.”

He made it clear that it was not possible for fishermen using a small boat to catch such a large fish.

A UK-based organisation, he said, had shown interest in the carcass and might help relevant research organisations in testing samples of the specimen. Once samples were collected, the fish would be disposed of properly, he added.

The government, he said, would compensate the fishermen who had bought the fish.

Meanwhile, the marine fisheries department, the National Institute of Oceanography and Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, Karachi University, confirmed to Dawn that the institutions would send their research teams to the harbour for collecting samples.

“As it is a filter feeder fish, the analysis of samples will also help us know the current status of our marine ecology, especially the pollution levels of our seas,” said Dr Pirzada Jamal Siddiqui, head of the KU Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology.

Advocating the conservation of all endangered, threatened and vulnerable marine species, Dr Siddiqui said that relevant laws in the neighbouring countries, including India, were very stringent and fishermen were jailed when found catching such species.

“As initially reported in the media, fishermen claimed that they caught the fish. If that was the case, it’s too sad. A living whale shark is more of value than its dead specimen. It’s known as a human-friendly marine species and has great significance in marine eco-tourism abroad as divers like to swim with whale sharks,” he said.

According to Mohammad Moazzam Khan, a senior marine expert, it was difficult to preserve the fish since it had no bones but cartilage. “It would be a very costly affair. I don’t know about other countries, but one specimen of the whale shark is preserved at the Bombay Natural History Museum,” he added.

Explaining some unique features of the whale shark, he said there was a lot of confusion about how whale sharks gave birth and finally it was found that eggs remained in the mother’s body until they were ready to hatch.

“There is no placental connection and the unborn young are nourished by egg yolks. The huge mouth has very small teeth that are not used for feeding,” he said.

Known as the largest shark and the largest fish in the world and a highly docile and non-aggressive species, the whale shark is listed ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is included in the Appendix 2 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Mr Khan said this meant that the fishing of this species was banned under the CITES to which Pakistan was also a signatory and state permission was necessary to carry out such an activity.