Fishermen In Sendang Biru Save Whale Sharks Trapped In Fish Nets

A number of fishermen in Sendang Biru, Malang Regency, East Java rescued a whale shark or Rhincodon typus who was accidentally caught in a fishing net in the water area in the area.

A fisherman from Sendang Biru, Moch Hadiyanto, said the whale shark was accidentally trapped in a fishing net spread by fishermen.

"The rescue of the whale shark two days ago, initially we spread the net because we saw a bunch of tuna," Hadiyanto said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, June 2.

Feeling that he had got a lot of fish, Hadiyanto and his colleagues decided to pull the net that had been spread towards the boat.

However, as the net approached the boats, the fishermen saw a large, black fish silhouette.

"We thought it was a vicious shark, after seeing it again it was a whale shark," he said.

After knowing that the caught was a whale shark, he and his fellow fishermen immediately made efforts to release the animal.

It took about 30 minutes for the fishermen to save the whale shark.

"There are two boats, the first is 37 crew members (ABK) and the other is about 6-7 people, we are working together to save the whale shark," he said.

Conservation activist and founder of Sahabat Alam Indonesia Andik Syaifudin explained that whale shark rescue efforts are proof that fishermen, especially in the Sendang Biru area, have an awareness of animal conservation efforts.

"The animal (the whale shark) is an animal protected by the Indonesian government. The rescue efforts carried out by fishermen at Sendang Biru indicate that they fully have the awareness to be involved in environmental conservation efforts," said Andik.

Andik said that the water area in the Sendang Biru area was indeed one of the places where whale sharks were looking for food. Therefore, its appearance is only during certain seasons.

"If it appears during the fish season, the whale pursues food. Throughout the year we can find it as long as the weather is good," he said.

In the same water area, he said, several other aquatic fauna species were found, such as sei whales, fin whales, or killer whales, sperm whales, and sickles.

In addition, there are several species of dolphins found in the region, such as bottlenose dolphins, melon head dolphins, and spinner dolphins.

"There are also sea turtles, scales turtles, and green turtles. Then, the manta and mola-mola can be found," he said.