Highlighting the need for protecting the whale shark, District Collector H. Arun Kumar on Tuesday underscored the need for creating awareness among the stakeholders about the importance of safeguarding the Schedule-I animal from fishing nets and to allow it to undertake the job of sea scavenging. Addressing the International Whale Shark Day Celebrations’ organised by the EGREE Foundation at the Rangaraya Medical College Auditorium here, he observed that the whale sharks were subjected to killing in the fishing nets, as most of the fishermen were unaware of the importance of the animal. He said that the government would pay compensation for the fishing nets, in the event of the fishermen safely releasing the sharks into the sea. The Collector warned that those who killed the Schedule-I animals were liable for seven years imprisonment and advised people to inform the police and the forest officials in the event of they coming across anyone harming the whale sharks. A campaign should be carried out even on the social media, he observed. Mobile app released He released a mobile app on the protection of endangered sea species, developed by the foundation and handed over a cheque to a fisherman family that released a whale shark into the sea along with the fishing net. Arun Kumar says the government will pay compensation for the fishing nets, in the event of the fishermen safely releasing sharks into sea.
2016, The Hindu