Since the launch of a conservation project in 2004, Tata Chemicals Ltd has succeeded in saving more than 350 whale sharks, ”the gentle giants” locally known as “Vhali” in the Saurashtra region along the coastline of Gujarat, an official said on Friday.
The success of a novel community initiative was celebrated at a Whale Shark Mela, a two-day event hosted jointly by Tata Chemicals, the Wildlife Trust of India and the Marine National Park Department at Dwarka in Jamnagar district. Local people, including the fishing community, school and college students, the staff of the marine park and the Indian Navy were among the participants.
Tata Chemicals has been supporting Whale Shark Day every year since 2004, said M. Ravindranath, Vice-President-Manufacturing, Tata Chemicals, in a press release here.
Tata Chemicals, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the Forest Department of Gujarat are partners in a conservation and research programme on whale sharks and corals in Gujarat.