Endangered Whale Shark found dead in Trinidad waters, FFOS demands full investigation

Trinidad and Tobago: An endangered whale shark was found dead near the Chaquacabana Hotel in Chaguaramas, Trinidad on July 9, following its earlier sighting in the local waters. It is being said that the carcass has been at the location since Monday.

The incident has sparked concerns with Gary Aboud, the Corporate Secretary of Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) calling for a full autopsy of an endangered whale shark.

Aboud is urging the relevant authorities to examine the cause of the death to determine whether the slow- moving creature died from a vessel strike, plastic ingestion, hydrocarbon contamination, or any other preventable causes as the whale shark was spotted alive on Saturday morning. 

🇹🇹 Dead Whale Shark Found in Chaguaramas Sparks Environmental Alarm
A whale shark was discovered lifeless near the Chaquacabana Hotel, prompting urgent calls for a full necropsy.#WhaleShark #Chaguaramas #MarineConservation #TrinidadAndTobago #WICNews #OceanAlert pic.twitter.com/vjSAeo5czj

— WIC News (@WIC_News) July 10, 2025

Leslieann Sambrano of Peake Yacht Services, an eyewitness, recalls seeing the gentle giant alive at Peake Yacht Services Marina for about 30 minutes on Saturday. The creature allegedly lingered near the shore before swimming away. 

She recalled seeing the whale shark as one of the greatest moments of her life as it was “a big big big whale” and she wanted to capture the moment. 

Despite this close encounter, 4 days later, on the early Wednesday morning the whale shark was found dead approximately 0.4 to 0.5 miles from where he was first spotted. Upon the notifying of the Authorities, the FFOS reported seeing a visible wound on the whale shark’s back during its final days as the creature appeared to be swimming in distress before its death. 

Aboud is calling for a full investigation including a detailed post-mortem to be conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, the Ministry of Planning and the Environment, and other stakeholders to look into the cause of death of  the endangered whale shark.

He emphasized that without the knowledge of the cause of death whether due to vessel strike, plastic ingestion, or hydrocarbon contamination, we cannot further protect marine biodiversity. As it is our  responsibility to protect our biodiversity and silence or inaction on this matter is deadly.