BATANGAS , Philippines – Government workers and civilian volunteers joined hands to set free last Thursday a juvenile whale shark, locally known as butanding, that had been stranded at the pier of the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) in Mabini, Batangas since July 30.
Relly Garcia, team leader of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), said the whale shark or Rhincodon typus is about 6 to 8 years old and measures five to sixmeters long.
Garcia said the whale shark could have been trapped at the pier while feeding in the area.
“The butanding is healthy, there are some scratches in the body that were apparently caused by shells and oysters at the foundation of the pier,†Garcia said.
He said aside from their team, members of the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police Maritime Group, Bantay-Dagat volunteers, and the local government environmental officers took turns in trying to free the whale shark.
Constancio Ronald Castillo, Mabini municipal agriculturist, said they were able to free the butanding when one of the volunteers rode on its back, covered one of its eyes with a cloth and guided it towards the small opening of the pier towards the open sea last Thursday afternoon.
“There are still lots of fish to be eaten in the waters of Mabini, that’s possibly why the butanding ventured into our pier,†Castillo explained in Filipino.