By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD CITY — A whale shark, which had been guided back to the sea, was found dead in Barangay Aguisan, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, last Wednesday.
The Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO) in Himamaylan received a report of the whale shark sighting off the coast at about 2:30 a.m.
The Philippine Coast Guard, ENRO, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) worked together to monitor and ensure the 16-foot mammal’s safety.
A local resident helped return the whale shark to the sea at high tide around 11 a.m. ENRO notes that whale sharks often approach shorelines when distressed or injured.
The creature was spotted deceased in the same vicinity where it had previously been stranded at midnight on April 18. The whale shark’s remains were interred at the city’s sanitary landfill.
ENRO has called on coastal communities, particularly fishermen, to protect such species, emphasizing that harming them breaches conservation laws.
“Protecting this wildlife is crucial for sustaining nature’s balance and conserving our environment for today and future generations,” ENRO stated on Facebook.
In related news, officials also discovered a deceased green sea turtle in Barangay Masaling, Cauayan town.
