Jakarta, June 26 -- Konservasi Indonesia (KI) has called for a different approach from the shipping industry, including speed management of large vessels, to prevent collisions between large ships and whale sharks.

A new approach is necessary since the overlap between the habitats and feeding grounds of whale sharks ( Rhincodon typus ) and large shipping vessel lanes has been shown to be closely linked to an alarming decline in the whale shark population.

In a statement released in Jakarta on Thursday, focal species conservation senior manager at KI, Iqbal Herwata, said that understanding whale shark movement is key to saving their global population, which has recorded a drastic decline of up to 50 percent.

According to a study by glob...