The baby whale shark that lost its way
MINISTRY AND DUBAI POLICE TEAMS JOIN OPERATION TO TRANSPORT 3-METRE-LONG SHARK 13KM TO ARABIAN GULF
Rescuers from Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai Police and Marine Environment Protection Association saved a juvenile whale shark that lost its way in Dubai Creek. The three-metre-long shark found near Al Jaddaf area was transported 13 kilometres from Dubai Creek to the Arabian Gulf.
Athree-metre juvenile whale shark spotted in Dubai Creek has been rescued and returned to the sea in a joint operation by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai Police and Marine Environment Protection Association.
The shark was transported 13km from Dubai Creek near Al Jaddaf to the Arabian Gulf.
On being notified about the sighting, a team of expert divers and employees of the ministry’s Biodiversity Department reached the creek and developed a rescue plan with minimal risks, factoring in the shark’s state of fear and anxiety.
Divers tasked with the rescue split up into three groups aboard two boats. Five hours later they managed to get the shark onto a stretcher lowered into the water between the two boats and extracted it from the creek, before moving it slowly back into the Arabian Gulf.
Hiba Al Shehi, acting director of the biodiversity department, termed the collaboration among the teams to save the scared baby shark “exemplary”.
‘Delicate process’
Lieutenant-Colonel Rashid Thani Al Ayel, head of the maritime security section at Dubai Police’s Port station, who oversaw the rescue operation, applauded the efforts of the teams at the ministry and the Marine Environment Protection Association.
“It was a highly delicate and strenuous process, and everyone involved was incredibly patient. Seeing the shark safely back in its natural habitat was worth all the trouble,” he said.
Dr Thani Bin Ahmad Al Zeyoudi, Minister for Climate Change and Environment tweeted on Wednesday: “Yesterday, I followed closely the rescue operation to return to the sea a juvenile whale #shark that lost its way in #Dubai Creek. The joint efforts, collaboration & team work of #MoCCaE experts and @DubaiPoliceHQ made us proud.”
Meanwhile, Al Shehi pointed out that earlier this year, the ministry launched the National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks 2018-21, which presents concrete steps to conserve and sustain the 72 known species of sharks that consider the UAE their home.
Coinciding with the launch of the plan, Al Shehi added, the ministry issued the UAE Shark Assessment Report, the first national overview of shark research and protective measures to safeguard shark populations in the UAE.
The document offers a valuable database to support the execution of the national plan.