Wildlife Conservation India Project #12947

Donate a camera to save a whale shark in India

by Wildlife Trust of India

Project Report | Apr 24, 2026
Pan India Whale Shark conservation Project

By Akanksha Singh | Programme Officer

Reach – 80,533
Direct
Fishers – 55,215
Students- 25,318
Indirect Reach- 260 million
Whale Shark Conservation Project:
The Pan-India Whale Shark Conservation Initiative, led by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in
partnership with State Forest Departments, has evolved from a flagship programme in
Gujarat into a multi-state conservation model spanning Gujarat, Kerala, Goa, and
Lakshadweep. The initiative focuses on protecting the endangered whale shark (Rhincodon
typus) through a combination of community stewardship, science-based interventions, and
policy engagement.
In Gujarat, where the programme was first initiated, the project has achieved significant
success by transforming local fishing communities into conservation champions. Through
the Self Documentation Scheme (SDS), fishers actively participate in the rescue and safe
release of accidentally entangled whale sharks, contributing to over 1,000 successful
releases. The state also leads in scientific advancements, including satellite tagging to
understand migration patterns across the Arabian Sea.
Building on this success, the initiative expanded to Kerala, where efforts have focused on
strengthening fisher networks, capacity building, and increasing rescue reporting along a
more dispersed coastline. In Goa, the programme integrates awareness and rapid response

systems while leveraging public outreach platforms to build visibility for marine
conservation. In Lakshadweep, the approach is more ecosystem-centric, combining
community engagement with emerging efforts to understand whale shark presence in island
ecosystems.
Across all regions, tools such as the Whale shark mobile application and targeted training
programmes enable real-time documentation and response. The initiative has also invested
in sensitisation, institutional partnerships, and scientific research, including tagging and
ecological monitoring.
Overall, the programme represents a scalable and adaptive model of marine conservation in
India—demonstrating how local communities, when empowered and supported, can drive
the protection of a globally threatened species while contributing to broader ocean .

Activity 1: Pre-Campaign Survey

To prepare for the Goa whale shark conservation campaign, a baseline survey of 240 stakeholders across 11 villages revealed that while there is high awareness of the species' presence and a 93% belief in the importance of releasing entangled sharks, significant gaps remain regarding their Schedule I protected status and actual rescue practices. Despite being viewed as "majestic," misconceptions persist, with 39% of respondents incorrectly believing the species is still hunted for meat. Leveraging the finding that 90% of the community relies on smartphones and television for information, and backed by the official support of the Goa Forest and Fisheries Departments, the focus for the project will be on bridging the gap between belief and action through community-led, education-based outreach.

Activity 2: Campaign activities (school and community events)

Across Goa, Kerala, and the Lakshadweep islands, a series of 47 targeted awareness and sensitization activities were conducted to engage youth and key stakeholders in marine conservation. In Goa, events included the project launch on International Whale Shark Day, Wildlife Week outreach for Drishti lifeguards, and a specialized seminar at Carmel College, which were complemented by a three-day educational stall at the Aqua Goa Mega Fish Festival. 38 youth-focused programs were conducted across Kerala and Lakshadweep that used creative formats such as quizzes, drawing competitions, sand sculptures, and seminars to promote whale shark protection. By integrating school-based education with large-scale community festivals, the campaign successfully fostered a deep understanding of marine biodiversity among a diverse demographic of students and local community members.

Activity 3: Fisher community sensitization and conservation awareness activities

Building on the outreach efforts across both regions, a total of 66 sensitization programs were successfully conducted along the coasts of Goa, Kerala, and Lakshadweep. These activities, in 193 kms Goa and 600.15 km of the Kerala and Lakshadweep coastline, focused on elevating the whale shark’s status as a protected species through ecological education, technical training and promoting local environmental stewardship.

Activity 4: Marine Megafauna Stranding Response Training for Veterinarians and Frontline Forest officials

To strengthen institutional response mechanisms for marine megafauna, the Kerala and Goa Forest Departments, Animal Husbandry Department of Kerala and Goa, Fisheries Department of Goa in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust of India, conducted specialized stranding response training for 46 veterinarians in Goa and 151 veterinarians and forest officials. Held across Alappuzha, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram, and North and South Goa, these programs provided theoretical and practical instruction on rescue protocols, necropsy procedures, and disease management. This initiative helped coordinate capacity for handling both live and dead stranding along the Kerala and Goa coasts.

Activity 5: Awareness through Mural arts on Whale shark conservation

To visually anchor the project’s conservation message, vibrant mural arts were painted at key locations, including the Chettuva and Azhikkal Harbours and the Kannur Kerala, as well as the Betim and Talpona jetties in Goa. These large-scale wall paintings serve as a creative bridge between scientific conservation and public understanding, transforming high-traffic areas into storytelling platforms that highlight the beauty of the whale shark. These artworks foster an emotional connection and a sense of collective responsibility among local fishers and visitors alike. Ultimately, this artistic engagement strengthens the call for sustainable practices and environmental stewardship, turning local infrastructure into a lasting visual reminder of the need to protect these gentle giants.

Gujarat Training

Multiple capacity-building initiatives were undertaken to strengthen on-ground response and data systems. Training workshops were conducted with fishermen across four major fishing harbours on the operational use of the Vhali Watcher mobile application under the Self Documentation Scheme (SDS). In addition, targeted field-based training sessions were held with Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to prepare them for satellite tag deployment protocols. Capacity development programmes were also organised for Forest Department officials and collaborative training sessions were conducted with Indian Coast Guard (ICGS) officers to enable coordinated offshore operations. Continuous one-on-one handholding support was provided to fishers to improve app adoption and reporting efficiency.

Sensitisation

Sustained community engagement efforts were carried out to reinforce fisher-led conservation. Sensitisation during training workshops emphasised the ecological importance of whale sharks and the role of fishers in ensuring safe release. The Vhali Watcher application was positioned not only as a reporting tool but also as a conservation enabler, encouraging behavioural change and ownership among fishing communities. Engagements with government stakeholders also focused on strengthening the application’s integration as a formal monitoring tool, including processes related to security audits and system validation.

Rescues

The project continued to achieve high rescue success through the SDS approach. Between April 2025 and March 2026, a total of 53 whale shark rescues (including 4 pups) were recorded along the Gujarat coast, despite seasonal fishing bans for two months. All reported entanglements were responded to promptly, ensuring safe release back into the wild. These rescues demonstrate the effectiveness of long-term community engagement and the reliability of the fisher-led rapid response network.

Tagging

The project maintained its leadership in whale shark satellite telemetry in India, with a total of 11 satellite tags deployed to date. The most recent tagged individual, Vhali-5, was tracked for 104 days, covering approximately 3,000 km, including movement towards the Gulf of Oman and return trajectories linked to favourable sea surface temperatures (25–30°C). Efforts to deploy additional tags continued through multiple offshore expeditions; however, tagging is undertaken strictly based on animal health and suitability. In one instance, a rescued whale shark was released without tagging due to poor health condition, reflecting adherence to ethical protocols. Preparations are ongoing to deploy two additional fin-mounted tags in coordination with the Gujarat Forest Department.

Links:

Art for Conservation: WTI drives whale shark conservation awaren

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Feb 26, 2014
Second whale shark tagged in India

By Goutham Sambath | Project Lead, Whale Shark Conservation Project

WTI biologist Prem Jyoti tagging the whale shark

In December 2013, as the year came to an end, India took another small step towards learning more about the whale shark – the world’s biggest fish. An individual was satellite-tagged to learn more about the movement and preferences of the world’s biggest fish that frequents the country’s western coast.

The tagging, second ever in India, was done on the morning of December 27^th by the Whale Shark Conservation Project team members with the help of the fishing community in Sutrapada, Gujarat and Gujarat Forest Department. The fishermen reporting the entangled whale shark had used the camera given to them for self-documentation to take pictures of the entire rescue operation.

The individual tagged was a female, around 18 feet long who had been caught in a fishing net. WTI biologist Prem Jothi implanted the tag and the entire operation was completed by the 5-member team in 30 minutes. This is the second ever for the country. The fish was released following tagging, and was healthy when freed. As the fish surfaces, the tag will emit signals that will track its location and the water conditions there. Other inferences will be made based on this data.

This initiative will help gather more information on the species to help develop effective conservation strategies. Whale sharks were once brutally hunted in Gujarat for its liver oil used to water proof boats. In 2001, the whale shark became the first fish to be listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Following the hugely successful Whale Shark Campaign in 2004, the fishing community of Gujarat began releasing whale sharks accidentally caught in their nets. Till date, release of around 400 whale sharks has been recorded.

Unlike on land, tagging marine animals presents numerous challenges. As tagging free ranging fish is a highly resource-intensive operation, the team had opted for a more feasible option of tagging individuals accidentally caught on nets before release. The team had first tagged a whale shark in 2011 and the fish was followed for about 40 days, tracking its movement along Maharashtra and Gujarat coasts.

This fishing season, the Marine team decided to stay put in a trawler on the sea as the fishermen ventured out to evaluate their catch every morning. Another team kept in touch with the fishing community on land, and helped coordinate quick information transfer.

Earlier, the plan to tag rescued whale sharks had been sidelined for a while to figure out a way to reduce time taken in the operation to minimise stress on the fish. The other option was to tag free-ranging individuals. But this was like searching a needle in a haystack, or literally a ‘drop in the ocean’; and as of now, both options are being kept open.

Satellite tag attached to whale shark's dorsal fin

The team involved in the tagging and release

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Sep 26, 2013
Baby Boom: Whale shark pup reports shoot up

By Farukhkha Husenkha | Sociologist - Whale Shark Conservation Project

Whale Shark. Pic: Suzy Quasnichka

In March this year, the project team received first cogent evidence of whale shark pups being found along the Gujarat coast. A young pup was caught in the net of a local fisherman – Mohan Beem Solanki – in Sutrapada. Following years-long tradition imprinted in the fishing community of Gujarat through the internationally-acclaimed Whale Shark Campaign, Solanki set the whale shark free.

When he called in the incident, Solanki was unaware of the flutter created by this serendipitous discovery. There were of course anecdotal reports about pups being found in Gujarat – after all Shri Morari Bapu ji had used this information in his discourses as part of the Whale Shark Campaign. But this was cold hard evidence! Thus began our search for more information on whale shark pups.

Since mid-April, I have visited fishing hamlets in Veraval, Sutrapada and Dhamlej, talking to over 300 local households there about whale sharks, about the campaign, and how they feel about seeing or rescuing the world’s biggest fish.

When I met Solanki, he told me about the tiny pup he had released from his net, and we collected and verified the rare visuals of the baby whale shark. The story soon made waves in the media as this little discovery indicated that these amazing fish were pupping off India's west coast.

Even as we went about asking the fishing communities whether they had seen or – hopefully – photographed a whale shark pup with the cameras we had provided them to facilitate self-documentation during rescues, the fishermen themselves started approaching us with information on the pups. Within a month, we had reports of four pups spotted off Gujarat’s coast.

This was a considerable find for the project. All the pups caught seemed to be between 1 and 3 months old – the size of an arm – indicating that the fish may be breeding, and definitely pupping in Indian waters.

For me, it has been a humbling experience, learning about the whale shark and the lives of the fishermen who have turned saviors of this fish. Our biologists are currently stranded on land as the monsoon seas are out of bounds for reasons of safety. We, therefore, went about exploring and extracting information from the only available virtual library on fish – the fishing communities. There is always a lot to learn and the more we learn, the better we can contribute to save ‘Vhali’ - the Dear One of Gujarat.

Sutrapada fishermen have reported sighting 4 pups

A proactive fishing community saving whale sharks

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