BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Northern Negros Occidental rescued a whale shark or butanding that got trapped in a fish pen in Barangay Banago here on Wednesday morning, Nov. 16.
Commander Joe Luviz Mercurio, PCG-Northern Negros Occidental station chief, said the whale shark was found at around 7 a.m. by a local fisherman.
The fisherman immediately contacted the PCG station, which in turn freed the giant sea creature from the fish pen.
Mercurio said they are unable to confirm the size of the butanding but they believed it was still a juvenile.
This was the second whale shark to get trapped in a fish pen in Bacolod City.
In September of last year, the PCG was also called in to free a butanding in a similar situation.
Known to be the largest fish species in the world, whale sharks can grow up to 40 feet or 12 meters long and could weigh as much as 18.7 metric tons.
The whale shark is currently classified as “endangered” under the International Union of Conservation of Nature, and listed as “protected” under the Philippine Fisheries Code./PN
