The accidental entanglement of whale sharks in fishing nets along the Thiruvananthapuram coast has highlighted a pressing issue—the lack of adequate compensation for fishers who sacrifice their expensive nets to free these endangered marine giants.
Sunil Y., also known as Peter, recently had to cut through two of his shore seine nets (Kambavala) in separate incidents at Pallithura to release trapped whale sharks. However, he laments that despite his efforts to protect marine life, he is not eligible for government compensation, leaving him to bear the financial loss alone.
