Fishermen Catch Rare Shark, Then Eat It

(AP)  Fishermen in the Philippines accidentally caught and later ate a megamouth shark, one of the rarest fishes in the world with only 40 others recorded to 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. It was taken to nearby Donsol in Sorsogon province, where it was butchered and eaten, said Gregg Yan, spokesman for WWF-Philippines.

Yan said a WWF Donsol Project Manager Elson Aca took pictures of the megamouth and tried to dissuade the fishermen from eating it. 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 Burias megamouth's stomach revealed it was feeding on shrimp larvae.

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.

He said the megamouth was caught in 660-foot deep waters, which are also frequented by the endangered whale shark, the world's largest fish and also a filter-feeder in the Donsol area, about 185 miles southeast of Manila.

Aca said 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.

[rsmik]

Fishermen Catch Rare Shark, Then Eat It

Isn't that why they went fishing?

[hetup-2009]

Eat or be eaten

works for me

[vm7488-2009]

See what happens when someone misses a memo? Perhaps Al Gore can fly to the Philippines to explain to these fishermen that Megamouth Sharks are "Friends not Food" and then all the news departments in all the land can dedicate hours of precious airtime to cover it.

The sun will rise tomorrow... even if CBS News, et al report it differently.
Posted by Quze31 at 2:12 PM : Apr 8, 2009

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I'm a Filipino, and trust me man, back in my Country, people in the poverished areas such as slums and provinces will eat anything except fellow humans. Just look at the poor stray dogs.

[Quze31]

See what happens when someone misses a memo? Perhaps Al Gore can fly to the Philippines to explain to these fishermen that Megamouth Sharks are "Friends not Food" and then all the news departments in all the land can dedicate hours of precious airtime to cover it.

The sun will rise tomorrow... even if CBS News, et al report it differently.

[bajajohn1]

Somehow, commenting on every news article is not in my best interest.. Have you ever wondered how everyone who blogs on this board becomes an instant commentator or expert on every subject reported? andy rooney

[rssllbll55]

ummm just what I need for dinner tonite. Some shark chops, some shark steaks. Yep when we run out of food in this country, I just might give it a try, along with dog ribs, dog drumsticks, dog thigs and monkey hips and rice sounds delicious too.

[review3]

Good Job richardj3901 !!

[lawchicksc]

"My condolences to the Rosie O'Donnell family. How sad that Rosie met her fate in this way, but at least her death benefited hungry poor people in the Phillipines.
Posted by richardj3901 at 9:37 AM : Apr 7, 2009"

LMAO!!!! Good one!

[just_the_facts_maam]

what a shoddy bit of reporting.

they didn't even inquire about the taste or get the recipe or anything.

I'll check food network.

[onza72]

Whats the matter with you guys, These kabayans are not intentionally catching & eating this rare shark. And if they are eating this fish , whats wrong in fact it is a delicacy, our people our living to survive for so many centuries by eating this fish. No wonder why are we making big deal on this. Whats most intriguing and scaring are those japanese killing intentionally the whales and wasting their meat to rot in the sea , they are waste and rubbish,,,they can fed this to 1 billiion hungry people on earth....