at least 1,000 whale sharks ( Rhineocodon typus ) are killed every year during April and November by fisherfolk in Gujarat. This was stated by Fahmeeda Hanfee, a senior researcher with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature-India. Every year India exports 300 tonnes of whale shark meat to countries like Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Hanfee has been studying whale sharks for the past three years. He believes that a complete ban on the killing of the fish is the only solution to the problem. Every year numerous whale sharks migrate to the warmer coast of Gujarat. Maximum whale sharks are killed near the Veraval and Okha ports. The fisherfolk earn a net of Rs 6,500 per catch.
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