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View all search resultsWhale shark found stranded on West Java beach dies
A 2025 study by Elasmobranch Institute Indonesia and Konservasi Indonesia documented 115 whale shark stranding events across 23 provinces in Indonesia between 2011 and 2023. The researchers recorded 127 stranded whale sharks during the period, of which 80 were confirmed dead.
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Maritime giant: A whale shark swims in the waters off Raja Ampat Islands on March 20, 2023, in West Papua. (AFP/Handout/Irish Conservation International/Jonathan Irish)
A
whale shark (Rhincodon typus) that washed ashore at Sanghiang Kalang Beach in Pangandaran regency, West Java, on Monday has died after rescuers failed to return it to the sea, marking the latest in a string of whale shark strandings reported in recent months.
Deni Sugia Permana, a representative of the Pangandaran office of the Directorate General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance (PSDKP), said authorities were notified of the stranding at around 8 p.m. on Monday.
Following the report, PSDKP personnel, assisted by local fishermen, rushed to the beach, which was located along the southern coast of Java, to rescue the animal.
The team repeatedly attempted to guide the whale shark into deeper waters so it could swim back out to sea. However, the rescue effort proved unsuccessful, as the animal repeatedly turned back toward the shoreline.
“The rescue operation lasted for about two hours. However, the receding tide repeatedly left the whale shark stranded, preventing it from reaching deeper waters where it could survive,” he said on Tuesday as quoted by Kompas.com.
Several whale shark strandings have been reported in recent months.
In Cilacap, Central Java, another area along Java’s southern coast, at least five whale shark strandings have been recorded over the past three months.
