Overview
About the event
Started in 2012, International Whale Shark Day celebrates these gentle giants. Growing up to 14 metres long and 12 tons heavy, whale sharks have a face only a mother could love: no whale shark will ever win a beauty contest, so it�??s right they�??re made to feel special one day a year.
However, there�??s a serious purpose to the day, which aims to raise awareness of how this animal has been hunted to vulnerability for its highly prized fins and meat.
In fact, in 2016, the whale shark was reclassified by the IUCN, moving from a vulnerable species to an endangered one, which is incredibly worrying.
According to some estimates, it is believed that there are only tens of thousands of these sharks life across the globe. There are a number of different reasons why whale sharks are declining. Of course, hunting has a huge role to play.
However, there are also cases of whale sharks colliding with boats, as well as these sharks getting trapped in fishing gear. In some parts of Asia, products that are made from whale sharks are in very high demand.
Of course, we cannot talk about the threat to any sort of ocean life without mentioning plastic. Waste plastics find their way into our oceans.
A whale shark can easily end up ingesting plastic, and this can cause a lot of issues, as it can get lodged into the whale�??s digestive tract. When this happens, the whale will usually starve to death, as it is not going to be able to eat anymore.
