A whale shark with a satellite tag in Cendrawasih Bay. (M.V. Erdmann via SWNS) By Talker

By Stephen Beech

Four out of five endangered whale sharks spotted at a marine tourism hotspot had "human-caused" scars, reveals new research.

Conservationists found that 80.6% of the largest living fish species seen off Indonesian Papua in the Pacific exhibited injuries that were attributed to human-made causes.

Whale sharks are officially classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .

Over the past 75 years, whale shark populations have declined by more than 50% worldwide, and by up to 63% in the Indo-Pacific region.

Because the species take up to 30 years to become sexually mature, scientists say populations can only recover slowly from threats, including hunting fo

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