14 DAY TRIAL // A juvenile whale shark nearly died when getting caught in some fishing nets and failing to free itself. Luckily for the animal, fishermen in the Sonmiani Bay in Pakistan jumped to the rescue and managed to free it.
The WWF says that it took about an hour before the shark was freed and that, once disentangled from the fishing nets, the animal was quick in swimming away without even thanking its rescuers.
Not so long ago, fishermen in these waters used to kill whatever whale sharks got caught in their nets. Thanks to information campaigns carried out by greenheads, many no longer do so.
“In recent years WWF-Pakistan has involved all major stakeholders in creating awareness among fishermen to not kill or harm these and other endangered species.”
“It is due to these efforts that rescue and release activities are being reported more frequently,” the WWF writes on their official website.
The whale shark rescued by these fishermen on May 20 measured about 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) in length.