UAE | Environment

Whale shark seeks way out of Dubai waterfront

A whale shark which was trapped at Dubai Marina since early yesterday morning has made its own way out after various attempts to guide it back out to the Gulf failed.

  • By Emmanuelle Landais and Piers Grimley Evans, Staff Reporters
  • Published: 00:00 July 17, 2005
  • Gulf News

A whale shark which became trapped at Dubai Marina on Saturday morning has made its own way out to the open sea.

Kiran Prasad/Gulf News
Hundreds of construction workers and bystanders quickly gathered to have a look at the trapped whale shark at Dubai Marina.

Security staff at the marina spotted the shark at around 7am swimming in the waters close to Spinneys.

Police and coastguard boats created sound barriers with their launches to try and drive the shark away but after a few attempts, it was decided to try and put the shark in a net and drag it out to sea.

The net was deemed too small, however, and Dubai police have now decided to let the whale shark finds its own way out.

Captain Hussain Al Rahoomi, rescue director in-charge at Dubai police, said: "We have decided to leave the shark inside the harbour because it is difficult to drive it outside. He will find his own way out. He is harmless so he can stay, it doesn't matter if he is inside or outside the marina. I hope when he does leave no fishermen will be waiting for him."

Fully grown Whale sharks can be as much as 15m long.
Redha Salman, head of environmental protection and safety section at Dubai Municipality, said: "It is unusual but we have seen two cases so far. A little over a year ago a whale shark was trapped here.

"We do not want to disturb it, otherwise they panic, and reports say he is swimming calmly. Usually they stay in a channel because they are comfortable and have found a feeding source."

Shaun Lenehan, Senior Environmental Scientist from Nakheel said whale sharks are docile and feed on plankton and occasionally fish.

"The scientific name for the Whale Shark at the marina is Rhincodon typus. They grow to 15 meters, weigh up to 15 tonnes and feed primarily on plankton."

Harmless but biggest fish in the world

According to marine scientist Laura Bates, who is working in Dubai and saw the shark yesterday at Dubai Marina, the whale shark can grow to about 14 metres.

"The one today was a juvenile. Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the world and are harmless to humans. Usually they're about half a metre in length at birth, so this one wasn't that young, but certainly not as big as some of the adults that have been seen.

It had a couple of large remora under its belly sucker fish that attach and cruise along for the ride."

Bates said the mouth extends the whole width of the flattened head.

Whale sharks feed on plankton and small fish.

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