Time is crucial - Whale Shark’s Release by the FIA PNG Fishing Vessel Gardenia 888
- Feb 3
- 1 min read
The FIA PNG office maintains an ongoing awareness training program for our members focused on the Responsible Sourcing Policy and its key principles.
In January 2026, we featured footage of the fishing vessel Gardenia 888 crew from the Frabelle Fishing tuna fleet as they successfully released a whale shark, demonstrating FIA PNG’s commitment to conserving ETP species. Time is crucial for releasing this species directly from the net while it's still in the water, which helps ensure its survival. We observe how Capotian techniques to sink the net and the vessels' maneuvers help release the whale shark, happy and alive.
Frabelle fishing also implemented refresher training and pre-departure briefings before fishing trips. These sessions cover various topics, including best practices for handling endangered, threatened, and protected species (ETP), which allow crew and new crew members to be aware of what to do and how to do it properly according to the WCPFC ETP best practices that we, at FIA PNG, have implemented.
Whale sharks are crucial to the marine ecosystem, playing an essential role in the marine food chain. Our crew consistently captures videos to illustrate their contribution to positive changes in the PNG tuna fishery and the larger Western Central Pacific Ocean, especially in Papua New Guinea's waters.
Mainly, our tuna fleet members operate and fish in the Papua New Guinea Exclusive Economic Zones and Archipelagic Waters. This type of evidence or videos showcases our compliance and dedication to protecting biodiversity.
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