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Dubai: The fisherman who caught Sammy the Whale Shark said he would do it again if he came across another fish in the same distress. All that mattered to him was the well-being of the giant fish.
Whether Sammy stays in the Atlantis tank is not his immediate concern but the artificial environment could offer the world's biggest fish a good home, said Hamed Al Rahoomy, an Emirati fishermen and previously chairman of the Fishermen's Association.
Annually, one or two whale sharks are caught accidentally or found by fishermen dead from boat collisions, said Rahoomy, adding that having one in a tank is a good means of educating the public and fishermen on the gentle fish.
"I am working for Atlantis to collect all the fish for the aquarium," he said.
Rahoomy said the Atlantis resort had not placed an order for a whale shark and refused to disclose the amount of money they may have paid for her.
"Some fishermen were surprised it was put in the tank with other fish. They don't know it doesn't eat other fish. We need education, it can help other whale sharks," he said.
Ali Bin Saqer Al Suwaidi, chairman of the Emirates Marine Environment Group based in Ghantoot which works on environmental education projects is adamant the whale shark should be tagged and released.
"When you catch them you tag them and release them. We have signed CITES and we should take it into consideration," he told Gulf News.
After more than a month in an aquarium with qualified team looking after the whale shark, Sammy should be well enough now to be released and have recovered from the distress it was apparently in. According to Al Suwaidi, Atlantis has up to eight tags for future plans to monitor certain species.
Al Suwaidi added that fishermen know very well which fish can and cannot be caught. "They know the endangered species. Our grandfathers would catch them to use the oil from their skins on their boats, but not anymore!"
According to Rahoomy the whale shark ran into some trouble in shallow waters around a breakwater in Jebel Ali making it very difficult for it to find its way back to sea. "We know about dolphins, turtles, dugongs and all these animals and we don't catch them but there is nothing in the law about whale sharks," he said.
"Normally we don't catch this fish, we don't go fishing for it, it has little value," he said, "I have a fishing permit and whether I bring fish dead or alive to sell, it's the same thing, but this is not fishing because we gave it to the Atlantis to look after it."
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