Tata Chemicals and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals have pitched in their mite behind the effort to save the whale shark Aunique corporate-ngo partnership in coastal Gujarat has succeeded in giving a new lease of life to the spectacular whale shark, the world's largest fish, which was being poached almost to extinction by the fisherfolk of Gujarat. Morari Bapu, a popular religious leader in the state, who has lent his considerable moral and field support for the campaign, has also played a key role in this major effort. Such a coordinated approach has led the Union government to get the whale shark included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (cites). The concerted campaign has been spearheaded by the New Delhi-based conservation ngo, Wildlife Trust of India (wti), to draw attention to the plight of the whale shark and eventually ban the commercial hunting of this gargantuan fish, wti's effort is being supported by chemical majors, Tata Chemicals Ltd (tcl) and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd (ghcl), both of which have a dominant presence in Gujarat. The whale shark is reaches lengths of upto 18 metres and weights of between two and eight tonnes, says wti campaigns manager Dhiresh Joshi. This docile fish seems to belong to a different time and age, with its prehistoric appearance characterised by its dinosaur-like ridges, spots and stripes on a dark background, flattened head, and a broad and large mouth. People are fascinated by these creatures, and the scant knowledge about them heightens their mystique, though snorkellers and divers report them to be gentle and given to undertaking vast migrations. Whale sharks are known to breed in the Indian Ocean and then drift south in the Mozambique current around Cape Horn into the Atlantic, where they might be carried across towards the Caribbean. Diving population This awesome fish has been driven to an endangered status as fishermen off the coast of Veraval and Okha pursued it for illicit trade as it traverses the waters of Gujarat on its long meandering annual migrations. This poaching peaked from March to June and the fish derived its local name of 'barrel' as the fishermen used to harpoon it and tether it to barrels to prevent it from diving undersea. With its mouth gagged and energy flagging, its fins would then be easily sliced off by the fishermen who would tow it to the shores on a slow and painful journey till it bled and asphyxiated to death in shallow waters. According to a 2001 survey of the Gujarat coast by traffic India - the country branch of the Cambridge-headquartered wildlife trade monitoring network that enforces cites - each whale shark fetched a price of between Rs40,000 and Rsl,50,000, its fins, flesh, liver, cartilage, skin, viscera and teeth sold separately. Aggravating the situation was the whale shark's slow reproductory cycle, as it reached sexual maturity only at 30 and delivered few offspring. Marine biologists outlined urgent steps to ward off damage that could prove irreparable and permanent, contending that its disappearance could devastate the ecology and the food chain of the sea world. In its endeavour to conserve the whale shark, wti received the wholehearted support of tcl and ghcl, which helped launch the Pride of Gujarat campaign to build awareness and inculcate pride among the people of Gujarat on the existence of the world's largest fish off their shores. Morari Bapu has readily agreed to be the 'brand ambassador' for the whale shark, espousing the cause of its conservation in his religious discourses to his legions of followers. This denizen of the deep was also sought to be popularised by promoting 'whale shark tourism' that would facilitate its viewing both by boat and by diving underwater as an alternate livelihood to its fishing. The campaign seems to have struck the right chords. Kamlesh Chamadia and his fellow fishermen who supply their fish to K.R. Sea Foods were startled to find a whale shark ensnared in their nets last October. When earlier, this would have spelt a commercial windfall for these seafarers, they decided instead to cut the nets to free the creature, which bounded away into the waves, secure in the belief that wti's sincere efforts were bearing fruit.