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View all search resultsFive whales, whale sharks die in separate strandings across Indonesia
A 2025 study by the Elasmobranch Institute Indonesia and Konservasi Indonesia found a sharp increase in reported whale shark strandings in Indonesia, from about four cases a year before 2020 to 22 a year afterward.
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This handout photo by Jonathan Irish for Conservation International taken on March 19, 2023, and released on April 29, 2026, shows a whale shark in the waters off Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua. A decade-long study tracking dozens of whale sharks off Indonesia's coast has revealed the secrets of their migrations and two hot spots where they gather year-round. (AFP/Conservation International /Jonathan Irish)
F
ive whales and whale sharks have died after washing ashore in separate incidents across Indonesia in recent weeks, highlighting concerns over the deaths of marine species that face growing threats from human activity and ocean environment changes.
The latest incident occurred on Friday at Lama Tuha Beach in Southwest Aceh regency, Aceh, where a whale shark measuring about 5 meters long and 1.8 m wide died after becoming stranded.
Local authorities said the whale shark may have approached the shore while feeding on small shrimp that had gathered near the beach, before becoming stranded.
Teuku Indra Kusuma, the local panglima laot (traditional fishing community chief), said about 30 fishermen and residents had tried to rescue the whale shark but were unable to return it to the sea.
"It was already very weak. About 30 people had been trying to push it back into the sea, but they were unable to do so, and it eventually died," Kusuma said on Saturday as quoted by state news agency Antara.
On Sept. 23, villagers in Indragiri Hilir regency in Riau province were surprised when fishermen found the carcass of a whale in a mangrove forest along the Bahale River, an area not known to be a whale habitat.
The fishermen discovered the carcass late in the afternoon while looking for seafood in the mangrove forest near the river estuary in Bente village, Mandah district.
