Multidisciplinary Action Project Report

On

“WHALE SHARK CONSERVATION”

At

Wildlife Trust of India

Submitted to

Institute Code: 817

Narandas Jethalal Sonecha Management and Technical Institute

Under the Guidance of

Mr.Bharat Barad (Assistant Professor)

In partial fulfilment of the Requirement of the award of the degree of

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Offered By

Gujarat Technological University

Ahmedabad

Prepared by:

Krunalgiri P. Gauswami (188170592012)

Shivangi M. Patel (188170592028)

Pratik K.Tanna (188170592037)

Smit H. Thakrar (188170592039)

Krunal A. Visavadiya (188170592042)

MBA (Semester – III)

Month & Year: November 2019

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Company Certificate

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 Student’s Declaration

I hereby declare that the Multidisciplinary Action Project Report titled “Whale Shark
Conservation “is a result of our own work and my indebtedness to other work publication,
references, if any, have been duly acknowledged. If we are found guilty of copying from any
other report or published information and showing as our original work, or extending
plagiarism limit, we understand that we shall be liable and punishable by the university,
which may include ‘Fail’ in examination or any other punishment that university may decide.

Enrollment no. Name Signature

188170592012 Krunalgiri P. Gauswami

188170592028 Shivangi M. Patel

188170592037 Pratik K. Tanna

188170592039 Smit H. Thakrar

188170592042 Krunal A. Visavadiya

Place: Date:

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Plagiarism Report

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Institute Certificate

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 Acknowledgement

Doing a research on problems of an NGO is not possible by one person. It needs co-operation
and efforts of people who are involved in it at very stage. We are thankful to every person for
helping us so much in our MAP.

Firstly, we would like to thank almighty God and our parents for supporting me in every way.

We are thankful to Mr. Charan (Ass. Field Officer) and providing information about their
work and NGO & for addressing to the problem which they are currently facing.

We are very much thankful to our institute guide Mr. Bhart Barad for their guidance and
support.

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 Executive Summary

Firstly we have given introduction about the industry profile of NGO sector is given. After
then introduction of wildlife trust of India and projects under it has been given.

Afterwards the WS conservation Project which we have chosen and their departments are
introduced. After then diagnosis phase in which problem statement, objectives of the study,
project schedules and problem have been analyzed.

Then comes the design phase which includes sources of data collection.

And lastly the implementation phase includes the solutions which are given by us, Model
adopted for solution implementation, project outputs, tangible and intangible benefits and
future recommendations.

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 Table of Content

Sr No Particulars Page No
1 Industry Overview: 9
1.1 About NGO 10
1.2 Types of NGO 11
1.3 Characteristics & Role of NGO in 13
India
1.4 Strengths & weakness 14
2 Company Profile 15
2.1 About Wildlife Trust of India 16
2.2 Project at glance 17
2.3 Projects under wti 18
2.4 Whale Shark conservation 19
2.5 Departments WS project 21
3 Diagnosis Phase 24
3.1 Problem statement 25
3.2 Analyzing problem/opportunities 26
3.3 Objectives of the study 27
3.4 Project schedules 28
4 Design and Analysis Phase 29
4.1 Sources of data collection 30
4.2 Data Analysis 32
5 Implementation Phase 33
5.1 Identifying alternative courses of 34
action
5.2 Model 35
5.3 Determining proposed solutions 36
5.4 Project outputs 47
5.5 Tangible & Intangible benefits 48
5.6 Future Recommendations 49
5.7 References 50

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Industry
Overview

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 What is an NGO?

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a non-profit, citizen-based group that functions

independently of government. NGOs, sometimes called civil societies, are organized on
community, national and international levels to serve specific social or political purposes, and
are cooperative, rather than commercial, in nature.

While the term "NGO" has various interpretations, it is generally accepted to include private
organizations that operate without government control and that are non-profit and non-
criminal. Other definitions further clarify NGOs as associations that are non-religious and
non-military.

Some NGOs rely primarily on volunteers, while others support a paid staff.

 Two broad groups of NGOs are identified by the World Bank:

 Operational NGOs, which focus on development projects.

 Advocacy NGOs, which are organized to promote particular causes.

 How NGOs are Funded

As non-profits, NGOs rely on a variety of sources for funding, including:

 membership dues
 private donations
 the sale of goods and services
 grants

Many NGOs, however, rely on a large number of small donations, rather than a small number
of large donations.

Despite their independence from government, some NGOs rely significantly on government
funding. Large NGOs may have budgets in the millions or billions of dollars

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 Types

NGO type by orientation:

 Charitable orientation: It often involves a top – down paternalistic effort with little
participation by the “beneficiaries”. It includes NGOs with activities like food,
clothing and housing of needy. Such NGOs may also undertake relief activities during
a natural or manmade disaster.
 Service orientation: It includes NGOs with activities such as the provision of health,
family planning or education service in which the program is designed by the NGO
and people are expected to participate in its implementation and in receiving the
service.
 Participatory orientation: It includes NGOs with participation of local people in
organization’s activities. It is characterized by self – help projects where local people
are involved particularly in the implementation of project by contributing cash, tools,
land, materials, labor, etc
 Empowering orientation: It is where the aim is to help poor people develop a clearer
understanding of the social, political and economic factors affecting their lives, and to
strengthen their awareness of their own potential power to control their lives.

NGO type by level of Operation

 Community-Based Organization: CBOs arise out of people’s own initiatives. These

can include sports clubs, women’s organizations and neighborhood organizations,
religious or educational organizations.
 City Wide Organization: It includes organizations like Rotary or Lion’s Club,
Chamber of Commerce and industry, coalitions of business, ethnic or educational
groups and associations of community organizations. Some exist 26 for other
purposes, and become involved in helping the poor as one of many activities, while
others are created for the specific purpose of helping the poor.
 National NGOs: It includes organizations such as Red Cross, YMCAs / YWCAs,
professional organizations, etc.
 International NGOs: These ranges from secular agencies such as CARE, Ford and
Rockefeller Foundations to religiously motivated groups. Their activities vary from

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 mainly funding local NGOs, institutions and projects, to implementing the projects
themselves. b) The World Bank differentiates two main categories of NGOs with
which it interacts: 1. Operational NGOs, the primary purpose of which is the design
and implementation of development-related projects. 2. Advocacy NGOs, the primary
purpose of which is to defend or promote a specific cause, and influence the policies
and practices of international organizations.

Other types of NGO’s:

BINGO

QANGO ENGO

INGO GONGO

 BINGO: business-friendly international NGO (example: Red Cross)

 ENGO: environmental NGO (Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund)
 GONGO: government-organized non-governmental organization (International
Union for Conservation of Nature)
 INGO: international NGO (Oxfam)
 QUANGO: quasi-autonomous NGO (International Organization for
Standardization [ISO])

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 CHARACTERISTICS OF NGOs:

i) The NGOs are not created for profit making; they are non–profit making
organizations. The profit generated, if any is used for working of organization’s
programmers’ and is not distributed among its members.
ii) NGOs are independent of government.
iii) The NGOs are formed on voluntary basis and possess spirit of voluntarism.
iv) The NGOs have legal status/ identity. They need to be registered under
appropriate Act (e.g. Trust Act, Society Registration Act or Companies Act). For
obtaining foreign funding, they need to be registered under Foreign Contribution
Regulation Act (FCRA) with Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
v) All NGOs are formed to serve a common purpose of benefit and / or development
of community. They aim towards helping the needy.

ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF NGOs IN INDIA:

India, being a largely populated country, it is not easy to meet all social and human needs by
the government without help of NGOs. NGO takes efforts to satisfy the needs of a common
man and development of nation by undertaking various projects and thus helps the
Government to fulfill its objectives.

“The Government has enunciated welfare state as one of the Directive Principles of State
Policy and essentially the society and social organizations also have a role to play in
providing basic needs and amenities to and addressing the problems of the down trodden,
destitute, and the weaker sections (women and children). Government has identified,
considering the social pattern of living and needs of citizens, schemes in which NGOs and
voluntary organizations can participate. These are broadly: Age Care, Agriculture, Animal
Welfare, Art & Craft, Children, Cities & Urban, Culture & Heritage, Disability, Education,
Environment, Health, Human Resource, Rural 30 Development, Science & Technology,
Tribal People, Waste Management, Welfare, Women Development, Other Social and
Cultural Activities”

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 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF NGO:
Strengths
Strong link with grassroots
Empirical expertise
Innovative ability
Democratic work culture
Cost effectiveness
Long term Commitment
Weaknesses
Lack of Experienced Manpower
Limited financial assistance
Focus on short range objectives
Political influence
Legal obligations
High rate of growth in number of NGOs
High corruption rate
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Company
Profile

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 Wildlife trust of India

The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is an Indian nature conservation organization to conserve
wildlife and its habitat and to work for the welfare of individual wild animals. WTI has been
credited for achieving conservation milestones such as Recovering population of critically
endangered species, Translocation of Species, Reducing Human-Animal Conflict, Rescue and
Rehabilitation of Animals including Elephants, Tigers, Leopards, One-horned Rhino and
Bears.

WTI was formed in November 1998 in response to the rapidly deteriorating condition of
wildlife in India. WTI is a registered charity in India (under Section 12A of the Income Tax
Act, 1961).

WTI currently focuses its resources on six priority landscapes – northeast India, western
Himalayas, terai, southern Ghats system, central India and marine.

Vision
A secure natural heritage of India.

MISSION
To conserve wildlife and its habitat and to work for the welfare of individual wild animals, in
partnership with communities and governments.

About

What began as a three-member team in a small room in south Delhi in 1998, is today a family
of about 150 professionals from diverse backgrounds - conservation biologists, scientists,
sociologists, wildlife veterinarians, managers, lawyers, finance experts and communication
specialists - but committed to the common cause of wildlife. They are based in any of the 15
field stations in remote parts of the country and a central coordinating office in the national
capital region.

An eight-member Executive Management Team comprising experienced conservationists,

scientists, managers and bureaucrats provide a visionary leadership to the vibrant and
enthusiastic WTI team.

The Board of Trustees of WTI comprises stalwarts who bring together a collective experience
of many decades in the field of conservation, education and management.

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 Project at glance

 Type: Non Profit Organization, Charitable Trust, Government Organization

 Industry: Animal welfare wildlife conservation Environment Protection
 Founded: 1998, New Delhi INDIA
 Headquarters: NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh INDIA
 Area Served: All India
 Key people: Dr. M.K. Ranjetsinh, Mr. Ashok Kumar, Mr. Vivek Menon, Dr. NVK
Ashraf, Dr. PC Bhattarcharjee
 Services: Rapid Action, Guardians of the wild, Emergency Rescue, Habitat
Protection, Right of Passage, Species Recovery. Conservation Action
 Number of Employees: 150+ (All India)
 Website: www.wti.org.in

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 Projects

 ANIMAL ACTION EDUCATION (AAE)

 CENTRAL INDIA WILD BUFFALO RECOVERY PROJECT

 CENTRE FOR WILDLIFE REHABILITATION AND CONSERVATION (CWRC)

 EMERGENCY RELIEF NETWORK (ERN)

 GARO GREEN SPINE CONSERVATION PROJECT

 KAZIRANGA – KARBI ANGLONG LINK PROJECT

 MANGROVE RESTORATION PROJECT

 MITHAPUR CORAL REEF RECOVERY PROJECT

 MOBILE VETERINARY SERVICE (MVS) UNITS

 PAKKE CONSERVATION PROJECT

 RAPID ACTION PROJECTS

 RIGHT OF PASSAGE: NATIONAL ELEPHANT CORRIDORS PROJECT

 SARUS CRANE CONSERVATION PROJECT

 TERAI TIGER PROJECT

 WHALE SHARK CONSERVATION – KERALA & LAKSHADWEEP

 WHALE SHARK CONSERVATION PROJECT

 WILDLIFE CRIME CONTROL DIVISION

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 CONSERVATION OF WHALE SHARK

WHALE SHARKS WERE ONCE BRUTALLY HUNTED along the shores of the Indian
state of Gujarat. To stop this slaughter, the species (Rhincodon typus) was added to Schedule
I of India’s Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 in May 2001, thereby according it the highest
level of protection in the country. The Whale Shark also receives international protection due
to its inclusion in Appendix II of the Convention in International Trade in Endangered
Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES).

WTI launched the widely-acclaimed Whale Shark Campaign in 2004 to spread awareness on
the plight of the species and its protected status among coastal communities in Gujarat. The
campaign helped convert the fishermen into protectors of the fish and brought about a change
in the perception and attitude of local people.

Yet, very little scientific knowledge is available on whale sharks in India. Long-term
conservation of the species will require generation of baseline data on its population, ecology
and migration.

The Project

The Whale Shark Conservation Project attempts to generate baseline data on the whale shark
to aid its long-term conservation in India.

A joint venture of the Gujarat Forest Department, Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) and
Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), the project activities involve scientific studies of whale sharks
through photo-identification, genetic analysis and satellite tagging. The project also explores
establishment of whale shark tourism in India, to benefit coastal communities who play a
critical role in marine wildlife conservation.

The project receives significant support from the Australia-India Council (AIC) particularly
in exchange of knowledge between the two countries.

Evolving from the Whale Shark Campaign, the project was formally launched in November
2008, beginning with the formation of a Scientific Advisory Council and a Governing
Council to facilitate its implementation. While the SAC includes Indian and international

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marine experts, the GC includes the project implementers and senior Gujarat Forest
Department officials.

Currently being implemented by the field personnel of the forest department and WTI, efforts
are being made to build capacity of the fishermen to facilitate their direct involvement in
whale shark studies.

No. of whale shark rescued till now is 412.

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Departments of whale shark organization

Project
Operation
Department

Project
Project
Human
Marketing Departments
Resource
Department
Department

Project
Finance
Department

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  Project Operation Department

As per the part of operation, whenever the rescue team of our project gets any information
about whale shark entangled in any fishermen’s net. The rescue team responds immediately
as soon as possible and tries to reach to that location in sea. After reaching to the location and
then crew members will dive and cut the net to release whale shark. Cameras have been
distributed to the fishermen in the case when sometimes could not reach then fishermen can
take photograph of the whale shark and boat and can apply for documentation. So in both
cases the crew team verifies all appropriate information and prepares a damage report of
those fishermen net. Report is then submitted to government officials (forest department).
After 6 months that amount of claim of damage will be received by team and handover to
fishermen.

 Project Human Resource Department

The project manager of Whale Shark Conservation of Gujarat is Mr. Farukhkha. In our
project, HR department is mainly handling by head office in veraval. At our project site, Mr.
Charan is handling HR department work. He guides us about their whale shark project in our
city. He and his team member Mr. Rakesh khapandi, Mr. Vinu singh and other co- helpers.
Mr. Charan has experience of 3 years in this filed, while his head assistance Mr. Rakesh
Khapandi has experience of 8 to 10 years in this field. They both give training and guidance
to other co-helper about scuba diving and all other necessary activities about the project.
They also manage equipments which provided to the fishermen. They guide fishermen about
whale shark’s behavior and other information. They guide them about their photography
camera which they have to take when whale shark caught in the net.

Thus, all activities of employee’s training and all other requirements are fulfilling by these
responsible in our project. And after the rescue all reporting paper works are also done by
project site office to head office.

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  Project Marketing Department

Although the project focused on whale shark science since 2008, the awareness campaign
continued on a smaller scale throughout the duration of the project. 30 August is celebrated as
the WORLD WHALE SHARK DAY in Gujarat. Awareness activities were held occasionally
among the local communities and educational institutions such as schools and colleges.
Awareness activities were also held to appraise fishermen about the things they should do to
reduce the stress on whale sharks during rescues, as part of promoting the self-documentation
scheme. The project carried out awareness campaigns to spread the information on the new
development, as well as to make the local fishermen aware of the self-documentation scheme
and methodology. The project deployed local volunteers to the word by doing street plays.
Trainings were also held for the local fishermen on the use of the cameras. A series of
interactive sessions with various schools, colleges and fishermen societies were conducted
during the project period in Jaleshwar.

 Project Finance Department

In wildlife trust of India there are many sponsors such as TATA Chemicals, Aircel,
Apollo tyres, CAF (Charities aid foundation) India, Chester Zoo, Cochin Shipyard Ltd
etc. All the funds from these sponsors are collected at noida firstly and then from there
the fund is transferred to the respective head offices of the conservation projects. TATA
gives Rs.12 crore annually in the wildlife trust of India from this our whale shark
conservation project gets Rs.2 crore.

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Diagnosis
Phase

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 Problem Statement

Research has been initiated with the problem statement. This problem statement is not a
problem associate with research, but it is one positive assumption which made by researcher
for conducting the research. As far as our map is concerned we prepare many areas as a
problem statement for our study. Mainly we just try to explore various operational as well as
financial issues which are faced by our organization.

Problem:-

1) Creating awareness among local fishermen.

2) Problems with the camera.
3) Refund of loss (cutting nets to release the whale sharks)/ Self
documentation takes time.
4) GPS Tracker (Duration).

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 Analyzing Problem / Opportunities

 Creating awareness among local fishermen (how to execute the

operation)

One of the problems is creating awareness among local fisherman. As it has been said that a
team of 15 fishermen is chosen and training is given to them and afterwards this 15 fishermen
will train further fishermen. So there will be a gap between training given and perceived. A
local fishing team includes people from different states, so communication gap arises while
imparting training to them. It takes time as creating is still in progress.

 Camera

As training is going on fishermen are not aware about how to take photograph. The problem
with the camera is that every time roll has to be rotate after taking one picture. Another
problem is that there are no flash lights in camera and when sometimes fish are entangled in
nets at night fishermen have to wait for dawn to take photograph, meanwhile waiting for
dawn the fish stress increases.

 Refund of loss/ self -documentation

Refund of fishermen net which they have to cut while rescuing whale shark is given by the
government. The maximum amount that is given for refund is Rs. 25,000. Fishermen will get
refund amount within 6 months. The procedure for documentation is quite tedious. And also
local fisherman has to inform their Patel’s first afterwards they will go for further procedure.
So it’s quite long time and this cause problem.

 GPS Tracker

GPS trackers are tagged on the fins of the whale shark. It is used to track the location of the
fish. The duration of the tracker is 300 days, so the employees of the whale shark
conservation have to change as the duration gets completed. One more thing to be considered
is that the location is traced only when the whale shark swims on the surface of water.

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 Objectives of the study

 To study the awareness through campaign among fisherman.

 To explore the prospect of whale shark tourism in Gujarat.
 To study/check/assess whale shark aggregation areas on the Gujarat coast.
 To understand the rescue & release the incidentally captured whale sharks.
 To understand the NGO sector in India especially in Gujarat.
 To understand the funding in whale shark conservation.
 To understand the operations carried by the organization.

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 Project Schedule

16 august - 10 27 september -
• Industrial Overview september • Design & Analysis 22 october • Primary Outcomes
• Organizational Phase
• Tangible &
Overview • Diagnosis Phase • Sources of Data • Implementation
Intangible Benefits
• Setting of Objective • Problem Statement Collection Phase
• Future
• Analyzing • Data Analysis • Model Selection
Recommendations
Problem/Opportunities • Determine Proposed
• Objectives of the Study Solution
1 august - 15 11 september - 23 october - 15
august 26 september november

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Design and
Analysis
Phase

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 Methodology adopted for data collection

Sources of data collection

Primary Data:-

Data collected for the first time by the investigator himself is called Primary Data. In this
report data has been collected by Meeting with Mr. Charan and his assistant.

Conversation-1

The discussion started with basic information like what is the project about and the area
covered under our project. Afterwards the main thing which is fund, we asked from where the
fund is obtained and how it is circulated and how it is used.

We have discussion over the operational activities which Mr. Charan and his team are doing
like rescuing and tagging a WS and other information and data which they have to keep
record about. And reporting of the tagged whale shark and all.

Conversation-2

Later we talk about the campaigns which they have established for creating awareness among
the localities. And then we have a discussion over the problems which they are facing during
their operation or tracking or any other types of problems.

Conversation-3

We also got information about the technologies which we are using and which other countries
like Australia are using. Australia is using some advanced technologies which we should also
use to save the gentle giant or via which we can generate funds and use it in our project.

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Secondary Data:-

Secondary Data is the data which already have been collected by someone else and which
have been passed through statistical process. For our report we have collected data from book
and website of wildlife trust of India.

In our report we have collected our secondary data from book called Gujarat’s Gentle Giant
and website www.wti.org.in.

From book we got information regarding the project area covered under our NGO. About
rescue operations done by the team and fisherman. The no. of rescue operation done till now.
About the new schemes launched in different cities.

The ways used to create awareness like celebration of whale shark day on different days in
different cities. We got in detail information regarding self documentation scheme that is
launched to save the whale shark from dying because of stress.

From website we got information regarding no. of projects handled under wildlife trust of
India. About the TATA sponsoring different projects in wildlife project etc came to know.
And we found few videos of the rescue operation did.

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 Data Analysis

Whale Shark conservation project is an Ngo in saurashtra region at veraval. It is about saving
the Gentle Giant. The Assistant field manager Mr. Charan is the head of the office here in
veraval. Their work is of creating awareness about WS, reporting of WS and many other
things related to it.

There are certain problems which have been faced by the Ngo regarding creating awareness,
with the instrument (camera & GPS) and in the documentation scheme. So for that, there are
solutions which have been given which required less investment and time. And some
solutions can generate income for the NGO also. These solutions will prove to be beneficial
to the NGO as well as to the fishermen also.

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Implementation
Phase

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 Identifying alternative courses of action

 Creating awareness

There are many other social media platforms which we can use for our awareness campaign.
Such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. We just have to open the account of Whale shark
and upload our videos, photos related to training, seminars, events which are related to WS
campaigns. We can do awareness via hoardings and pamphlets.

But the main thing is that how many fishermen are using such kind of social media app. The
awareness created through you tube app will show higher effect than other social media apps.
As fishermen are less educated they don’t know how to use all such social media app. In you
tube they just have to do voice search or they can type also in Google search and they will
find videos related to WS easily. Therefore, YouTube will be more effective than other social
media platforms. And through pamphlets and hoardings they will get idea regarding how to
execute the rescue operation.

 Camera

In camera we have suggested digital camera’s having flash lights and other advance
technology. Another alternative is there which is mobile phone. But the problem arise is that
if any whale shark caught the fisherman has to jump into the water and then take photo, so
problem arise is that mobile is not waterproof and the important thing is that photoshopping
chance increases. That’s why fishermen have to take photos from the cameras which are
distributed by the NGO.

 GPS

The other SPOT tag are there having long duration battery life. That tag works for more than
3 years, but the problem is that they are costly. It will cost more than Rs.20, 000. As we
don’t have much fund we can’t afford it.

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 Model

Economical

Social Technical

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 Determining the solution to be proposed

1. Creating awareness

 Present Method

Since 2008 the project focused on whale shark science, the awareness campaign continued on
a smaller scale throughout the duration of the project. 30th August is celebrated as a whale
shark day in Gujarat. On this day celebration is done by fishing communities, school children
and authorities from the forest department, coast guard, navy etc every year.

Other than this, awareness activities were held occasionally among the local communities and
educational institutions such as schools & colleges. Awareness activities were also held to
appraise fishermen about how to rescue the fish and self documentation scheme.

Melas were organized in porbandar, dwarka, mangrol, Sutrapada & veraval. Here, fishermen,
school and other college students & govt. authorities take part in the events. The events saw
talks and speeches by experts as well as street plays on the plight of the fish. Fun activities
were organized for the participants. Caps and Flags having whale shark imprinted are
distributed etc.

Visiting a city or one day trip expenses incurred for establishing awareness campaign are as
follows:

Sr. No. Expenses In Rs.

1 Travelling expense 1000
2 Staying & Food expense 2000
3 Material expense (Certificates, equipments, caps & flags) 4000
Total 7000

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  Solution

But then also awareness especially in rural area has not arrived yet as expected. Personal visit
training is not showing much effect, as some fishermen are unaware about it.

So solution for this is using social media platform. In today’s era social media is the platform
via which we can reach every unreached point.

Feasibility Study

Economical You tube is better social media platform

for awareness program. As the cost to
open a you tube channel is negligible. The
expense which incurred will be of making
video. The cost to make a video using a
handicam, then editing & cutting will be
nearby Rs. 1200 to 1500. If new video
relating to new training & technique arises
we can put on this channel before personal
visiting. As personal visit takes time this
channel helps to reach everyone easily.
One important thing is that you tube can
be a way to generate source of income.

Technical To create a you tube channel has become so

easy now a days. Anyone can create its own
you tube channel from anywhere. You have
to follow the below steps:
 Sign into you tube channel & click on
the user icon at the top right of the
screen.
 Click on the gear icon to get your
account you tube setting
 Click on create a new channel.
 Add your project related name and

37
 click create
 After this you can upload your videos
on this channel and also put
description related to videos.

And this awareness regarding you tube

channel has been spread via link sharing in
whatsapp among fisherman group &
messages & having banners or hoardings.

Social Here it means how you communicate with

your audience. We have prepared you tube
channel in gujarati language for the purpose
of easy understanding of fishermen. All most
all fishermen belong to Gujarat & they are
comfortable with gujarati language.

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39
 2. Camera
 Present Method

As we know that to reduce the stress level of the fish & save them from dying due to the high
stress level. Self documentation scheme has been introduced. In that cameras were distributed
among fisherman. Nearby 1500 cameras were given. Plus with this training was also given
like how to take the photo of the entangled whale shark and the boat number for forest
department documentation problem.

Besides all this there are few disadvantages with the camera. Firstly it does not have flash
light, replace the roll, chances of the photo shopping etc.

 Solution

A digital camera is the ultimate solution.

Feasibility Solution

Economical The cameras chosen are waterproof &

having flash light. The cost of such
cameras is nearby Rs. 4000 to 5000, if you
are selecting better quality camera.
Otherwise the starting cost is Rs. 1500 to
2000.

Technical The features of new camera include:

Waterproof to 100 feet/33 meters, built in
flash, reusable, 28m focus free lens, pressure
resistant shutter button, shock resistant, hand
strap included etc.
Among fishermen those who are youngsters
may be aware of the use of the camera.
Because today’s technology is easy to use.

Social Even some fishermen do not know how to

40
 use camera, so for this training session
should be organized. In this how to take
photo at day & night mode is taught.
Training to adjust the camera setting is also
given.
Some setting adjustment is required for that
training is given.

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3. Refund of loss/ Self- Documentation

 Present Method

At the beginning if the whale shark gets caught in the fisherman’s net, then fisherman had to
report it to the authorities & a rescue team would reach the spot to cut it loose, mainly for
documentation. But this led to increase in amount of time & transportation expenses.

Meanwhile the team reaches the spot & cut the net, this all leads to stress & high chances of
immediate or delayed mortality, with some of them even dying because of it.

Therefore, in 2011 to reduce the stress of the fish the idea of self-documentation arose.
Cameras were provided to the fisherman, training were also given. Fisherman was not
required to wait for the rescue team to arrive.

Here, the photo are taken & are documented with the forest department. It requires tedious
paper work, several days were spent at govt. offices and it takes about 6 months to get the
compensation.

And sometimes fishermen have to report the Patel (head authority ) then they report to the
forest department. Due to this sometimes fight occurs between them also & this led to the
loss of the fishermen.

 Solution

An online app should be design for documentation.

Feasibility study

Economical For creating application there are

certain things which are required like
domain name, host, coding etc. So
firstly we need to purchase all this
things and the cost normally depends
on the Mbs of the application. If your
are making an app which is nearby
2mb to 20 mb then it will cost us Rs.
2000. The cost will increase with

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 increase in mbs.
Technical As we have learnt that paper work
documentation was tedious & takes a lot of
time of fishermen. And they can’t wait for a
long time for compensation as their
livelihood is depended all on fishing.
Documentation via an app helps them with
easy procedure.
A picture with embedded date & location
data should be uploaded through it. The
photographs taken via other means won’t
upload. This app should be such that it will
work in open water with limited internet.

Social Here, we have to consider is how fishermen

are use to of using such app or how much
they know about self documentation via app.
So it is necessary for Mr. charan & team to
organize a seminar to train the fisherman
about such app. And videos regarding
documentation should be kept on you tube
channel, through which the fishermen if
needed can take help.

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4. GPS Tracker

GPS trackers are used to track geographical location of WS (whale shark) &
their migration in sea area. GPS tracker which we are using is SPOT Tag. The
transmitted signals data location is obtained through ARGOS service provider,
which is accurate up to ±350m.This tag measures temperature from -40ºc to +
60ºc.

Two types of battery are there AA & single cell battery. AA is capable of
providing 70,000 transmissions & a C cell provides 1, 80,000 transmissions.
AA cell provides location for nearby 280 to 300 days, while the actual result
depends on the animal behavior & other environmental temperatures.

As the WS comes on the water surface it will send the location to the satellite
and from there we can get the data.

Solution

To increase the life duration of the GPS tracker we have to go for the alternate day activation
of the GPS transmission method.

Feasibility Study

Economical The price of this SPOT Tag is Rs. 10,000

to Rs. 12,000. So by choosing the alternate
day activation method we are able to save
the cost which we have to incur after every
300 days. As the cost incurred once in
every two year.

Technical In SPOT tag there is an in built coded timer

clock. In which we just have to set up an
activation timing so it will activate at that
time for certain hours we have set &

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 afterwards it will get deactivate and again
reactivated

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 Primary outputs

 In creating awareness we have recommended you tube channel and more awareness is
created among people via it.
 In cameras the currently which we are using need to improve by getting some
advanced technology featured camera. So fisherman can take the photos of WS easily
with clarity at night also.
 For making easier process of documentation and for quick refund purpose to
fisherman online structure of verification should be applied.
 In GPS tracker advanced technical devices can solve the tracking issues which happen
sometimes.

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 Tangible & Intangible Benefits
Following are the tangible & intangible benefits derived from our research work …..
Tangible Benefits Intangible Benefits
 The main benefit is that because of
above alternatives lead to increase in
the no. of WS.
 Expenses are decreases as we have
opted to social media platform for
creating awareness.
 As online app is there for self
documentation, fisherman will be
compensated faster and this will
reduced the workload of forest
department for verification.
 As increasing arrival of technical
features the structure from upper to
lower level will become easier to
access and manageable.
 Our scientist can do more research on
WS and develop their R&D and also
have research on other species by
having advance technology.
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 As the morale attachment between
WS & fishermen is growing day by
day, fishermen are more involved in
saving this gentle giant. Even if small
damage happens to the net they are
not filing for compensation also.
 Firstly the time is saved as awareness
is created via social media platform.
 Through self documentation the time
of both fishermen as well as forest
department has been saved.
Fisherman will not have to wait for 6
months for their refund of net.
 More & more awareness is created.
 Future recommendation

 Like Australia we should also develop system of whale shark tourism, where airplane
and expert spotters are involved to identify the WS location then tourists are taken to
that spot via yacht. This will generate income and such will be used for the WS
conservation.
 Like other sanctuaries we should declare WS as National Sea Wildlife Sanctuary,
hence govt. will be more involved in this and we will get more help from them
financially also.
 As per the recommendation if we can see the positive & almost possible chances of
success are there, if advance technology & structure and impact of that on cycle of
process move as per our suggestions. May be this creature can get easier &
comfortable to the present atmosphere and this will increase in their number also.
 As we are having 1600 km of coastline in Gujarat if in future ocean area will be clean
as like in other countries that will be boon for not only WS but also for other marine
animals. This will contribute to the save ocean campaigns.
 We should reward fishermen to boost their morale to cut off the nets & to free off the
Gentle Giant.

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 References

(www.wti.org.in)

(www.4ocean.com)

(www.deshgujarat.com)

(www.tcsrd.org)

(www.mangrovesfor the future.org)

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