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Saturday, April 11, 2009

MEGAMOUTH SHARK: Ultra-Rare Shark Found, Eaten

What is up with us people, why must we put everything we find in our mouths! For all we know it could have been one of the last of its kind. Why like that!
MEGAMOUTH SHARK: Ultra-Rare Shark Found, Eaten
April 7, 2009, National Geographic

In just a short time, one of the rarest sharks in the world went from swimming in Philippine waters to simmering in coconut milk.

The 13-foot-long (4-meter-long) megamouth shark (pictured), caught on March 30 by mackerel fishers off the city of Donsol, was only the 41st megamouth shark ever found, according to WWF-Philippines.

Fishers brought the odd creature—which died during its capture—to local project manager Elson Aca of WWF, an international conservation nonprofit. Aca immediately identified it as a megamouth shark and encouraged the fishers not to eat it. But the draw of the delicacy was too great: The 1,102-pound (500-kilogram) shark was butchered for a shark-meat dish called kinuout.

"While it is sad that this rare megamouth shark was ultimately lost, the discovery highlights the incredible biodiversity found in the Donsol area and the relatively good health of the ecosystem," Yokelee Lee, WWF-US program officer for the Coral Triangle, said in an email.

"It is essential that we continue working with the government and local community on the sustainable management of Donsol's fisheries resources for the benefit of whale sharks, megamouth sharks, and the local community," Lee said.

Other shark species in Donsol are valued for conservation rather than consumption: The region hosts a successful ecotourism project that allows people to swim with whale sharks.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You're absolutely right. That shark shouldn't have been eaten. Either it should have been brought back to life (whoops...not an option) or left to rot (not a good option). A dead shark is a dead shark, and nothing you can do can change that. Why not eat the thing? Who cares how rare it is...it's dead, and nothing's gonna change that, no matter how much you love sharks. I personally love sharks, too: the soup and the steaks are just yummy.

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