Body Of Whale Shark Found Off Penang Coast

June 16, 2009

Release from: M. Sivanantha Sharma
The Star Online (Malayasia)

BUTTERWORTH: Four fishermen on a deep sea fishing trip found a dead whale shark measuring 5.36m long entangled in their net some 50 nautical miles off the coast.

The fishermen, from Kuala Muda near here, made the discovery at about 1am Thursday.

Salleh Hussin, 48, said they tried to release the one-tonne creature -- also known as Rhicondon Typus -- back into the sea upon realising that it had died but failed to do so as it was too heavy.

He said they then towed the fish back to the Kuala Muda jetty and called the Penang Fisheries Department upon reaching there at about 7:15am.

Department deputy director Khairul Anwar Mohamad, who went to the scene with three staff members, said the department would take possession of the shark for research as the fish was a protected species.

“Our initial investigations showed the fishermen did not catch the fish intentionally but we will conduct further investigations,” he said.

It was the seocnd reported landing of a whale shark in Penang.

In Jan 2, four fishermen had a surprise catch when a whale shark got into their nets, 10 nautical miles off the coast of Teluk Bahang.

The whale shark, a filter-feeding shark, is the largest living fish.

The slow-moving creature is known for its playful character and poses no harm to humans.