SIHANOUKVILLE: The Ministry of Agriculture and the Fisheries Administration said that a whale shark has been spotted off the coast of Koh Rong.

The fish is rarely seen in Cambodian waters, providing a pleasant surprise to a fishing patrol in the fishing community area of Doeum Thkov Village in front of Coconut Beach. The whale shark was spotted on December 11 around 5:10pm.

Community leaders have expressed hope after past sightings that the presence of the whale shark could help attract tourists to the area. The whale shark is the largest non-mammalian animal in the world, but is completely harmless to humans. It is a filter feeder that mostly eats plankton and small fish. With a population decline of over 50% in the last 75 years, the whale shark is listed as endangered, meaning that catching, killing or trafficking the fish is illegal.