Andhra Pradesh: Beached whale shark guided back to sea

The 22-foot sea animal got entangled in fishing nets

A 22-foot whale shark that got entangled in the fishing nets of fishermen of Tantadi village, Visakhapatnam, was successfully rescued and guided back into the water by the local fishermen and officials from the Forest Department, here on Sunday.

This was informed to the media by the Forest Department on Tuesday.

This was the second such successful rescue of whale shark, near the Visakhapatnam coast in the last two months.

About 40 fishermen who were fishing near Tantadi village coast on Sunday morning realised that the spotted whale shark got entangled in the fishing nets, as it tried to feed off the fishes inside the nets.

The incident was informed to the Forest Department by local fisherman Masenu.

DFO Anant Shankar rushed to the spot with the staff and with the help of the local fishermen, the staff at the Olive Ridley hatchery and wildlife volunteer and photographer M. Srikanth, took up the rescue operation.

The tide being on the lower side during that period made the rescue attempt challenging and difficult. It took over four hours, two boats and over 40 men to push the whale shark back into the waters.