The whale shark, protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, was allegedly sold by fishermen in the coastal state for about Rs. 800,000 ($11,000) to a Chennai-based pharmaceutical company, as per an Odisha Sun Times news website report.
In the video, a giant whale shark can be seen on the vessel, with several men trying to push it. By the end of the recording, a man is found standing on the whale. However, it couldn’t be established whether the fishermen were trying to push it back in the water or vice versa.
The video clip soon went viral after being posted on social media. The clip of the whale shark, whose fins carry a high price on the international market, led to uproar on social media.
Whale sharks are often sighted off the coastal states of India adjoining the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal.
In a separate incident earlier, a baby whale shark was rescued and released into the sea after it was found washed up on the shore by residents in Indian state of Odisha.