Fisherman in the Philippines caught and ate a megamouth shark while fishing for mackerel last week. This marked the 41st recorded encounter with the mysterious megamouth shark, one of the world’s rarest fish. First discovered in 1976 near Hawaii, marine-biologists are still learning about the shark. What is known is that the megamouth is a docile filter-feeder whose diet consists mostly of plankton and jellyfish.
This particular megamouth was caught on March 30 near Burias island (located in the central Philippines), when it got stuck in the net of local fishermen. At the time of it’s death the shark weighed 1,100 pounds and stretched out to 13 feet. The fishermen, assuming it was a regular shark, brought it to Donsol where it was butchered and eaten. A profitable trade as shark meat is a part of a local delicacy.
This marks the eighth megamouth shark found in the Philippines, an area known for it’s rich marine life. Megamouths have also been found in Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Senegal, South Africa, Mexico, Australia, Brazil and California.
Here’s a video of the megamouth in action:
Comments
Joe
April 7th, 2009 - 3:01:10 PM
i wonder if those fishermen were the first to ever eat one of these things? probably tastes like tuna