Cagayan Fisherfolk Rescue Rare Whale Shark

April 22, 2009

Release from: Floro Taguinod
GMANews.TV (Philippines)

TUGUEGARAO, Philippines – A rare whale shark was rescued in Buguey town in Cagayan last weekend, a belated report by officials in the northern province said Wednesday.

Buguey municipal secretary Arthur Pagador said that the whale shark, measuring about 7 meters in length and weighing about 2 tons, was found entangled in a beach seine (large fishing nets) along the shore of Barangay Centro West.

Pagador said that acting town mayor Licerio Antiporda III immediately directed the local police to secure the area and facilitate release of the trapped animal.

After an hour or so, the whale shark, also known as butanding, was freed and it returned toward the deeper portions of the sea.

Officials of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and town officials lauded the fishermen and residents who found the whale shark for making the right decision to save the animal instead of killing it.

The whale shark, scientifically known as Rhincodon typus, is listed among the prohibited species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Sec. 97 of RA 8550 and Fisheries Administrative Order 193 prohibits the catching of whale sharks and manta rays. Violation to the law carries 6 months to 4 years imprisonment as penalty.

Old folks in coastal areas say that whale sharks used to abound in great quantities but indiscriminate fishing might have driven them off. BFAR Regional Director Jovita Ayson said that recent sightings might be an indication of the re-emergence of whale shark population in Cagayan waters.

Recently, the fisheries bureau in the region initiated a briefing among law enforcers on the proper rescue procedure on stranded marine mammals to include whale sharks and other rare and threatened species, as part of the activities under the Region 2 Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

The briefing was conducted by Dr. Lemnuel Aragones, a marine mammal scientist from the University of the Philippines.