World’s Rarest Shark Caught, Then Eaten
Fishermen in the Philippines accidentally caught and later ate one of the rarest sharks in the world - the megamouth shark.
Only 40 others have been encountered, the World Wildlife Fund said Tuesday. The 1,100-pound, 13-foot megamouth died while struggling in the fishermen’s net on March 30 off Burias island in the central Philippines.
Okay, fishing nets kinda suck!
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It was taken to nearby Donsol where it was butchered and eaten, said Gregg Yan, spokesman for WWF-Philippines. The WWF tried to dissuade the fishermen from eating it but shark meat is the main ingredient in a local delicacy.
The first megamouth was discovered in Hawaii in 1976, prompting scientists to create an entirely new family and genus of sharks. The megamouths are docile filter-feeders with wide, blubbery mouths. Yan said the fish was tagged “Megamouth 41″ — the 41st megamouth recorded in the world — by the Florida Museum of Natural History. It was the eighth reported encountered in Philippine seas.
The presence of two of the world’s three filter-feeding sharks along with manta rays and dolphins indicates that the region’s marine ecosystem was still relatively healthy and should continue to be protected. Yan urged fishermen who encounter the rare shark to immediately report to authorities or the WWF.
Others megamouths have been encountered in California, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Brazil, Ecuador, Senegal, South Africa, Mexico and Australia.
Source [AP]
How interesting that it was said that they “accidently” ate it when the WWF pleaded for them not to. Hah.
By the way, there needs to be some real legal actions to protect these sharks. I hope these fishermen are remorseful for their actions
is a shame we don’t have the ways to protect them…
I can understand really wanting to eat a delicacy, but wow.
Are you guys serious. these poor fishermen found a way to feed their families for quite some time, and you are sad about a fish. You seriously need to stop trying to save wildlife when humanity in the third world are in need of help.
Humans can eat sharks? The sharks haven’t got a chance in Hell of surviving! Got any good BBQ recipes? I’d like to try something new and less offensive to global warming than beef on my BBQ! Maybe the shark is the new “Cow”! Create less CO2, eat a shark! Great stuff, this article has brought out. Does shark meat contain Omega 3 oils? lets go get ‘em! How much antibiotics and hormones are needed to feed a shark? Could they be a safer food than Beef? a better food than Beef? and if prepared by the best chefs we have, a tastier food than beef? They certainly do not shittty up our rivers and lakes like beef does, they don’t smell like Hell in feedlots, don’t chew up our corn crops, and don’t clog our veins with cholesterol! We need shark recipes post-haste!
Yes, lets all sit back here, with our high speed internet connection and discarded mountain dew cans, and wag our fingers at people on the other side of the planet who can barely make ends meet for eating what hey found in their fishing nets.
You can always count on the people whose bellies are full to tell other what they can and can’t do to get by.
That was a great commentary !
Here once more is a post concerning something completely irrelevant to the survival of mankind but actually an attempt by some self-appointed authority to infringe on the liberties of other individuals doing whatever it takes to survive in this irrational world of bankers and politicians.Why don’t you attempt to do something productive with your life and watch how your
self esteem soars into the stratosphere.
Everyone reading these posts should join the Campaign For Liberty and do something really worthwhile to save our planet and our liberties.
That was a great! I hope these fishermen are remorseful for their actions