KUALA TERENGGANU, July 17 (Bernama) — The discovery of a whale shark measuring about three metres by a group of local divers on July 15 off Pulau Bidong, Terengganu, has provided new data to the country’s marine life conservation efforts.

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) Faculty of Marine Science and Environment senior lecturer Dr Maizah Mohd Abdullah said the finding confirmed that the area was a migration route for the species.

“The whale shark is a migratory animal, so the presence of this species can provide information that the Pulau Bidong area is a migration route. This data is important because (at present) we do not have enough information on its actual route.

“This discovery is exciting because these marine animals are often found in Pulau Redang, but have never been recorded around the waters of Pulau Bidong,” she told Bernama.

When asked whether the presence of the whale shark was an indication of the improving conditions of the country’s waters, she said that the matter could only be confirmed if there were two or more of them found in the same area in search of food.

She added that the whale shark was categorised as the largest endangered fish under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and urged members of the public to report any sightings of the species to the media or UMT.

Meanwhile, local diver Mohamad Hafiz Hamzah, 34, who recorded the whale shark’s appearance at a depth of about 12 metres, shared his excitement with Bernama over the discovery.

“I was underwater and just cruising around and then suddenly, it seemed like three fellow divers in front of me were chasing after something that was behind me, and when I turned around, (I saw the) whale shark. It feels unreal, like did that really happen?” he said.

Mohamad Hafiz was one of the participants of the Bidong Summit which took place from July 14-16 at the Pulau Bidong Marine Natural Research Station.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency