BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A whale shark, locally known as butanding, estimated to have been weighing two tons, was found dead inside a fish cage off the coast of Pulupandan, Negros Occidental.
The discovery was reported on September 25 by Ludy Yanson of Brgy. Zone 1A, Pulupandan, to the Philippine Coast Guard sub-station in the town.
Initial investigations of the PCG showed that the dead whale shark was found by Nelson Lim and four other fishermen inside a fish pen about a kilometer away from the Pulupandan town shoreline.
The whale shark was towed to the shoreline for examinations by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Based on examination conducted by the BFAR and municipal agriculture office of Pulupandan, the whale shark was estimated to weigh two tons, with a length of 7.37 meters and a width of 1.42 meters.
The Coast Guard believe it was not the same whale shark that was found last week inside a fish cage in Brgy. Banago, Bacolod City.
The whale shark found off the coast of Brgy. Banago, Bacolod City, managed to extricate from the fish cage before the arrival of Coast Guard personnel.*
