Baby whale shark dies after capture

Close to a hundred curious children and adults flocked to the shoreline of sitio Salvador, barangay Tanke, Talisay City, yesterday morning to get a glimpse of a whale shark.

Widely known as "butanding," the whale shark measured three meters long.

Elma Baro, officer of the Coastal and Maritime management division of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources VII, confirmed that the whale shark was just a baby.

Fishermen Sea and Ecological Care (FISECA) chairman Ulysis Fernandez, said last Friday dawn fishermen from Tanke caught the whale shark in the seawaters of Lapu-Lapu City.

He narrated that the fishermen led by Jaime Cabrillos caught the creature and dragged it back all the way to Talisay after lashing its tail to the boat reportedly owned by San Roque barangay captain Cesar Abapo.

Fernandez, who rushed to the scene, found lacerations on its tail.

"Ang maong isda gihigtan dapit sa ikog ug gipaguyod sa ilang bangka nga panagat gikan sa Lapu-Lapu paingon sa Talisay. Ang maong isda naluya, nagsamad-samad ug na-dehydrated hinungdan sa iyang kamatayon," Fernandez said.

Baro, meanwhile, said she will ask Fernandez to report the incident to the police for proper information and it is up to FISECA to file appropriate charges against those fishermen who caught the creature.

Whale sharks are harmless and feed on small crustacean plankton, small fishes, such as sardines and anchovies, and even larger fishes such as mackerel. It ranges throughout the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Indo-West, central, and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Whale shark tourism is popular in the Philippines, with majority of the whale sharks found in Donsol, Sorsogon. Some whale sharks can also be found in the Tañon Strait between Cebu and Negros Oriental and in Bohol Strait. - Garry B. Lao