Indonesia
Archipelago
A 2025 study by Elasmobranch Institute Indonesia and Konservasi Indonesia documented 115 whale shark stranding events across 23 provinces in Indonesia between 2011 and 2023. The researchers recorded 127 stranded whale sharks during the period, of which 80 were confirmed dead.
Maritime giant: A whale shark swims in the waters off Raja Ampat Islands on March 20, 2023, in West Papua. (AFP/Handout/Irish Conservation International/Jonathan Irish)
A whale shark (Rhincodon typus) that washed ashore at Sanghiang Kalang Beach in Pangandaran regency, West Java, on Monday has died after rescuers failed to return it to the sea, marking the latest in a string of whale shark strandings reported in recent months.Deni Sugia Permana, a representative of the Pangandaran office of the Directorate General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance (PSDKP), said authorities were notified of the stranding at around 8 p.m. on Monday.
