14
People look at a carcass of whale shark in Karachi on Tuesday. The 40-foot whale was found dead in the Arabian Sea. – Photo by AP
KARACHI: Qasim Khan waged the unlikeliest of battles with Pakistani authorities on Thursday over the right to charge hundreds of curious visitors 20 rupees (22 cents) each to see a roughly 40-foot whale shark he bought from a fisherman.
Khan is in the business of buying fish, albeit usually much smaller ones, and jumped at the chance on Tuesday to pay about $2,200 for the 20-ton behemoth, which was discovered dead in the Arabian Sea off the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.
Business was brisk on Wednesday, as several thousand people paid to see the brown and white-spotted shark, which Khan set up under a cloth tent next to the harbor. People crowded around to put their hands on the massive shark, and families snapped their picture with it – ignoring the pungent smell as it began to rot.
But police cracked down on Thursday, saying fishery authorities had decided people should be allowed to see the shark for free. Khan resisted and hid his prize attraction under the giant piece of green cloth he had previously used as a tent.
The move sparked a comic game of cat and mouse between Khan and the police. They would order him to remove the cover, which he would do briefly before replacing it. Then the cycle would start over again.
“We are told to protect and facilitate the people to see this rare fish, but this man is not allowing this,” said police inspector Mohammad Aslam at the scene.
Khan countered by saying he paid 200,000 rupees for it. “To recover my cost I am charging just 20 rupees per ticket, but the forsaken fishery authorities have deprived me of this fortune,” he said.
The altercation angered some of the hundreds of people who crowded around the shark.
“We came here to see the fish after the media hype, but to our dismay they are not allowing us to see it,” said a young businessman, Sohail Shah.
One local newspaper had trumpeted the discovery with a headline that read “All is ‘whale:’ ‘Moby Dick’ comes to town ahead of Karachi Literature Festival.”
Some were also upset to see people climbing all over the shark.
“This is sheer disrespect for animals,” said 20-year-old nursing student Usman Zada.
But nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of 9-year-old Fizza Umar, who came with her father.
“It was so huge!” Umar said. “I wish I could take it home.”
Ashraf Daniel, a pastor of an Anglican church, was also delighted by the visit because he felt it reinforced his religious faith.
“Our Bible says that Saint Jonah survived three days in the abdomen of a whale, so I brought my children to see themselves the strength of God,” said Daniel.
Police authorities didn't get attract to the scene due to the rottening smell of the whale but the sweet smell of what Mr. Khan is getting in the form of "PROFIT"
Mr. Khan has complete right on its property and it must be totally upto him whether he charge on the giant creature or not.
He should have invested a few thousand more in ice and preserved it better….
Someone should ensure that the usually incompetent concerned authorities should either bury the rotting carcass to avoid the spread of disease OR preserve the whale in a museum, whether with skin or just a skeletal form.. Would be a great draw to visitors. The one who bought the fish n now showcasing it in public like this risking disease on a massive scale should sell the fish to a museum or something & stop playing with others' lives who are too naive to understand the risks of touching & breathing in pungent fumes from a rotting corpse of a dead animal.
I mistakenly called it a tiger shark, it actually is a whale shark.
You know, the first thing that comes to mind is that Mr. Khan must not have paid the authorities "their share" (if you know what I mean) to do what he is doing. And when the authorities saw that Mr. Khan is profiting from this and they are not getting a dime, so they decided to upheld the law.
I hope I am soooo worng here…but I don't think so.
I think you are right. If he had paid to the authorities he wouldnt be facing this prb
Shaz. You are absolutely right. Both parties should have exercised (and I am sure they did try) the rule of "Mook mooka" by sharing the profits.
A whale is a mammal, a shark is not.
World's Biggest fish gets this kind of a treatment , if this would have happened in USA it would have such a big new, not a 20 rupees clash news !!!!!
So sad !!!!!
It is called a Whale Shark as the word Whale is often used to describe something huge. It is a Shark but due to its size it is named a "Whale" Shark.
P.S. Do not quote WIKIPEDIA. It is not considered a reliable source.
Can some please clear this scenario first whether to call it a Whale or a Shark? Because both the species are far different with respect to their breeds! It cannot be called as WhaleShark it is not a hybrid!
Ahmar – a whaleshark is a shark but because of its huge size was sometimes confused with a whale. So the non latin name of this fish is a whaleshark.
Unlike whales – who are mammals – this is a fish. Its the biggest fish in the world.
So the article is not incorrect.
It is indeed call a whale shark. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_shark
the entrepreneur should be allowed to capitailze on his instincts. nothing is free in this world. also, the animal should have respect. it is not be let rot in the open.