Whale shark fishery off Veraval

The occurrence of the whale shark \nRhiniodon typus Smith is considered a rarity \nand hence, most of the publications on the \nwhale shark are restricted to its stranding, \nincidental catch and length measurements. \nCompagno (1984) reported that commercial \nharvesting of the whale shark is practically \nnon-existent. However, Rao (1986) observed \nexistence of a small harpoon fishery for the \nwhale shark in Veraval (Saurashtra coast). \nRecently, there has been a remarkable \nincrease in effort as well as catch. There are \nno records to indicate a directed fishery for \nthe whale shark elsewhere in the world. The \nobjective of this study is limited to reporting \nthe existence of the whale shark fishery at \nVeraval.