The fisherman from the town of Donsol caught the 13 foot 1,102 pound Megamouth while fishing for mackerel says National Geographic. According to the article, this was only the 41st Megamouth to ever be found since the once thought extinct shark reappeared in 1976.
World Wildlife Fund Philippines local project manager Elson Aca identified the shark and then explained to the fisherman that they shouldn't eat the shark, said National Geographic. Shark meat is considered a delicacy in the Philippines and the shark was butchered and cooked.
A variety of reactions from the Twitterverse:
Budjette (Manila, Philippines) Rare megamouth shark caught&eaten by Pinoy fishermen http://tr.im/indV i wonder if they turned it into adobo
tristanx (Toronto, Canada) I have to admit, reading this made me a little sad. Ultra-rare "megamouth" shark caught, butchered, eaten: http://bit.ly/3PDfyi
faltobelli (Undisclosed) It's not survival of the fittest, it's extinction of the tastiest as proved by Philippine fishermen who ate a mega rare megamouth shark
noxo (London, U.K.) This saddens and angers me: Extremely Rare Megamouth Shark Found and Eaten http://twurl.nl/z7qldl (RT @NatGeoSociety)
mishmashmush (Undisclosed) So a group of fishermen caught and ate the ubber rare Megamouth Shark. It was cooked in coconut milk. I think I'm making Thai tonight.
buwayahman (Philippines) I don't get it. Given a choice between starving to death or eating a rare megamouth shark, wouldn't you eat the shark? http://bit.ly/770g2
