Navy rescues Whale Shark at Ninthaur beach

SL Navy rescued a Whale Shark (RhincodonTypus) that was stranded to Ninthaurbeach area in Kalmunaiand supported it to swim deep waters, on 06^th July 2020.

Naval personnel attached to SLNS Deegau in the Southeastern Naval Command had spotted this stranded Sharkat the Ninthaur beach area in Kalmunai and they guided it into the deep sea by a strenuous attempt with the assistant of SLNS Shakthi which was on patrol in this area, under the directives of Commander Southeastern Naval Area Rear Admiral Senarath Wijesooriya.

This creature is a one of the largest species belongs to the Shark family and weighs about 9000 Kg and about 9m in length. Their lifetime is around 70-100 years. As per the United Nation’s Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) this shark should be conserved by the coastal states. Since the whale shark (Rhincodon Typus) is included in the Red list, catching them in Sri Lankan waters is prohibited.