Malaysia: Whale Shark freed after 12-hour ordeal

R.S.N. MURALI The Star 17 Nov 16;

MALACCA: A whale shark survived a 12-hour ordeal after being trapped in a fishing net and lying on the beach before finally being freed at Sungai Duyong jetty here.

The fish, weighing 1.5 tonnes, was dragged to the jetty before fishermen with the aid of State Fisheries Department released it to the sea.

Fisherman Mahat Ibrahim, 55, said the whale shark was entangled in his net while he was fishing about seven nautical miles off the coast here.

“My brother and I suspected something amiss when our boat struggled to drag in the catch and we found the whale shark in the net,” he said here yesterday.

He said the whale shark was dragged to shore near the jetty at 2.30am before it was released at about 1pm.

“I suffered a loss of RM7,000 as my fishing net was badly damaged after trapping such a heavy fish,” he said.

Many residents gathered to take pictures when news of the giant fish spread on social media.

State Agriculture, Entrepreneur Development committee chairman Datuk Hasan Abdul Rahman said the whale shark, scientifically known as Rhincodon Typus, was released off Pulau Undan near here.

He said the fishermen tried to release the whale shark once they reached shore but couldn’t due to its tremendous size and weight, and decided to wait for the Fisheries Department to help.

He said the whale shark is a protected species under the Fisheries Act 1985 and listed as endangered under the Convention on Interna­tional Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites).


Whale shark caught by fishermen in Malacca released
R.S.N. MURALI The Star 16 Nov 16;

MALACCA: Fishermen have released a whale shark that was caught in a fishing net near the Sungai Duyong jetty here.

The shark, weighing approximately 1.5 tonnes, was kept in the water near the shore for about 12 hours.

It was then dragged ashore to the jetty site before fishermen – with the aid of the state Fisheries Department – released it back into the sea.

Fisherman Ibrahim Mahat, 55, said the whale shark was entangled in his net while he was fishing off the coast here.

"My brother and I suspected something amiss when our boat struggled to drag the catch in, only to find we had caught a whale shark," he said on Wednesday.

He said the shark was dragged onto shore near the jetty at about 2.30pm.

Local residents rushed to get a picture with the marine creature when the news of a giant fish at the jetty spread on social media.

Alias Ibrahim, 44, said he rushed to the jetty after hearing about it.

"It was a nice experience to see such a giant fish," he said.

Whale sharks are listed as an endangered species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).