Environmentalists on Thursday called on the managers of a massive new marine-themed resort in this Gulf boomtown to release a whale shark they are holding inside a giant fish tank.

The 13-foot long female whale shark wandered into the shallow waters off Dubai’s Gulf coast in August. A week later, representatives of the recently opened $1.5 billion Atlantis hotel announced that the resort’s marine biologists and veterinarians had rescued the whale shark and transported it to an open-air aquarium with 65,000 fish, stingrays and other sea creatures.

But environmentalists and wildlife activists in Dubai say the whale shark has become the hotel’s hostage and needs to be release back into the wild.

“It has to be put back where it belongs, into deep waters in the open sea,” Habiba al-Marashi of the Emirates Environment Group told the Associated Press.

Representatives of Atlantis resort, which is located on a man-made island built in the shape of a palm tree, did not return calls to the AP on Thursday. They also did not respond to AP’s request to speak to one of the marine specialists the hotel says monitors the whale shark around the clock.

“This animal was lost, a creature that needed help,” al-Marashi said. “It’s important to nurture it back to health, but it’s crucial not to turn it into a pet.”

Whale sharks are listed as a threatened species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the world’s largest conservation network.

Considered harmless, the whale shark can live up to 100 years and can grow to be 46 feet long. It is normally found in parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The Dubai-based English language newspaper, Gulf News, has called the confinement of the whale shark “cruel, beyond belief.” The paper has nicknamed the whale shark Sammy and has asked its readers to join a “Free Sammy the Shark” campaign by downloading an image of the creature and wearing it as a badge.

This is not the first environmental controversy that has plagued the Atlantis resort. Last year, activists protested the sale of dolphins from the Solomon Islands to Dubai. The mammals were transported 30 hours by plane from the South Pacific to a man-made lagoon, where hotel guests can swim with them.

Environmentalists have also criticized Dubai’s artificial islands, saying their construction harms coral reefs and shifts water currents.

The Atlantis resort opened in September but plans a grand opening in November with a private party for 2,000 celebrities and a performance by Australian pop star Kylie Minogue.

Source: International Herald Tribune & AP

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