By MAMORU NAGAYA/ Staff Writer
January 10, 2024 at 16:39 JST
A whale shark named Hachibe was a popular attraction at Notojima Aquarium in Ishikawa Prefecture. (Provided by Notojima Aquarium)
NANAO, Ishikawa Prefecture—A whale shark died at an aquarium here after the water quality in its tank deteriorated due to damage caused by the enormous earthquake on New Year’s Day.
The male shark, named Hachibe, was found motionless at the bottom of the tank just before noon on Jan. 9, according to Notojima Aquarium.
The 4.6-meter-long whale shark was last seen swimming around noon on Jan. 7.
On the night of Jan. 1, a few hours after the magnitude-7.6 earthquake struck, aquarium staff noticed that the water level in Hachibe’s tank had dropped below half.
They injected seawater, and the normal level of about 6.2 meters was achieved by the evening of Jan. 6.
However, on the morning of Jan. 4, staff members found that filtering equipment in the tank was broken.
In addition, the water temperature had dropped to 17 degrees, compared with the usual 25 degrees, heightening the threat to the huge fish inside.
Hachibe and his female partner, Haku, were brought to Notojima Aquarium in September 2022.
They have been kept in a 1,600-ton tank, one of the largest installed at aquariums on the Sea of Japan coast.
The tank’s equipment is unlikely to be repaired soon. Aquarium staff are now manually injecting seawater into the tank and adjusting the water quality and temperature to keep Haku alive.
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