Whale Shark Appears At Ngrenehan Beach, Gunungkidul

GUNUNGKIDUL - Whale sharks/spotted sharks appear on the shores of Ngrenehan Beach, Gunungkidul, Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY). The appearance of this spotted shark was caught by the angler's cellphone camera.

"It's true that it appeared in Ngrenehan, a spotted shark," said BKSDA Bantul officer Sugiyono, confirmed by VOI, Wednesday, July 21.

This spotted shark or whale shark appears on Saturday, July 17th. At that time the angler was looking for fish on the Biting cliff. This footage of the spotted shark was shared on social media.

According to Sugiyono, the appearance of spotted sharks has also occurred on Parangtritis Beach. But at that time the spotted shark was stranded dead.

Quoted from the website of the Center for Coastal and Marine Resources Management, whale sharks, rhincodon typus are the largest fish species.

Whale sharks are included in protected fish species with Full Protection status according to the Decree of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries No. 18 of 2013 concerning the Determination of Full Protection Status of Whale Sharks, with full protection status throughout their life cycle and/or body parts. Whale sharks were also included in the CITES Appendix II list in 2003.

Whale sharks have a pelagic habitat which means that whale sharks spend more time on the surface or the water column (Colman, 2007). This fish can be found in open waters to coastal waters, sometimes even entering lagoon areas on atoll islands.

In addition, whale sharks tend to be cosmopolitan. According to Colman (1997), the distribution of whale sharks includes warm tropical and subtropical waters (18-30o C) at positions between 30o N and 30o S, except in the Mediterranean Sea.