18 replies to this topic

[Capn Jack]

The locals were buzzing about a young whale shark being finned and left alive. We used our morning surface interval to go investigate the rumor.

Sure enough, on a beach near our dive site, was a very dead, very finned juvenile male. A dozen or so locals being supervised by the bureau of fisheries had dug a trench next to the whale shark, and were preparing to bury it.

I've seen the movies of sharks being taken, finned and tossed overboard to drown, but this was in person, and so much more tragic having snorkeled with these gentle giants a couple of years back in Holbox, Mexico.

I wish every so-called connoiseur of shark-fin soup could have been there to help bury the carcass. I have pictures and will send to anyone morbid enough to want them. I can't say I blame the folks who did this (No one knows who, but probably just a poor fisherman making a good nickel for this) - but what a total waste.

[Jerrymxz]

Where did this take place? I assume you are on a trip somewhere and not in Texas. but either way such a waste.

[WreckWench]

He is in the Philippines....

And Mark send the pics to me...We will use them to help with the campaign to stop this deadly and horrific practice.

[Racer184]

probably just a poor fisherman making a good nickel for this

Tell him to do like the chinese do to make viagra ... scrape up road grunge and put a label on it. He could be the worlds biggest supplier of shark fin soup overnight.

[peterbj7]

Truly horrific.

[Capn Jack]

Where did this take place? I assume you are on a trip somewhere and not in Texas. but either way such a waste.

We're in the Philippines - Batangas Province - about 3 hours drive south of Manila - great spot - SecretSea's private resort - we're the only guests - the "Banca" dive boat barely holds 3 divers - no AC, (not needed 90 daytime with Breeze, 75-80 at night), no TV, no phone - but wireless works!!

[Mermaid Lady]

[dustbowl diver]

That truly is sad news! Hope it didn't ruin your trip!!

[Capn Jack]

That truly is sad news! Hope it didn't ruin your trip!!

Didn't ruin it - but put a damper on the pristine beauty here - not exactly a tourist mecca - although there are a lot of dive hotels in the area - it looks like mostly asian tourists on the other boats.

More rumors and supposition than any facts about the death of the Whale Shark. We looked at the corpse, and didn't see any wounds other than the missing fins, no punctures to the brain (the kill technique of the fisherman), no stabs in the belly as reported elsewhere - no evidence of struggling in a net as also reported.

[WreckWench]

Thank you for the picture Mark.

I would like a volunteer to post this on the site and to help mount a campaign against finning.

Anyone up for the challenge! k

[lynnlchan]

I absolutely don't want to see it and I absolutely think you should post it. You know what I mean.

(my .02 psi)

[drbill]

I've been reading about this incident in the PPD forum on another board and find it very sad... but find the response of the local authorities as published in the media there to be horrific. The claim that this whale shark became entangled in a fishing boat's net and that the fins were cut off by the fishermen in an effort to "save" the whale shark's life are absolutely preposterous. Many Filipino divers are outraged at this.

If we ever get the "rest of the story" on this, it will be interesting to see if it was a local fishing boat... or one affiliated with the Taiwanese or other mafia groups that seem to have control of much of the shark fin trade from what I read.

Mark, if you don't mind my using your pictures (with credit to you of course), I'd appreciate receiving copies via e-mail to use in a future column. Please PM me for my email address.

@Racer184: now I know why that Chinese Viagra I bought on the Internet didn't work as I expected it to!

Edited by Landlocked Dive Nut, 19 February 2010 - 09:51 AM.
removed personal email per TOS

[secretsea18]

I've been reading about this incident in the PPD forum on another board and find it very sad... but find the response of the local authorities as published in the media there to be horrific. The claim that this whale shark became entangled in a fishing boat's net and that the fins were cut off by the fishermen in an effort to "save" the whale shark's life are absolutely preposterous. Many Filipino divers are outraged at this.

If we ever get the "rest of the story" on this, it will be interesting to see if it was a local fishing boat... or one affiliated with the Taiwanese or other mafia groups that seem to have control of much of the shark fin trade from what I read.

Mark, if you don't mind my using your pictures (with credit to you of course), I'd appreciate receiving copies via e-mail to use in a future column. Please PM me for my email address.

@Racer184: now I know why that Chinese Viagra I bought on the Internet didn't work as I expected it to!

Bill,
Basically, since nobody saw the actual act of finning the whaleshark, there will likely be no "real" story ever. Basically, I saw and have images of the shark up close, and spoke with the local authorities. The only true info is that the whale shark was found by a diver when it was still alive, and the fishing authorities were notified by the diver's resort. They assessed the situation, and towed the finned shark to a protected bay, and determined it would not be able to survive.
We saw the local authorities digging a trench for it's burial, which they determined to be the correct manner of dealing with the carcass. The shark was a young male. It had all of it's fins cleanly cut off, except for the upper part of its tail. There were a few marks on the 3/4ths of the body that we could view (likely from the ropes used to tow it), and there was was no evidence of net marks or signs of a struggle on its skin. It was very unlikely to have been caught in a poor fishermans net because of the lack of marks indicating any struggle.
The act of finning even a dead shark is illegal in the Philippines, so even if it were already dead that would be a no-no. But it was alive when it was discovered with essentially no fins on it.

I have lots of images of it... taken mostly by a local friend of mine. I would be happy to share, however the above is the only accurate story (directly from the local authorities to my ears).....

It is a real tragedy on many levels, including the loss of local income from divers hoping to see it.

Robin

[secretsea18]

Here is an update to how the Philippine government is handling whale sharks and dangers to their species in Philippine waters. Glad that their President is acting this way about this issue.

See the latest update here : http://ph.news.yahoo...te-d6cd5cf.html

[Greg@ihpil]

TRUELY ANOTHER SLAP TO NATURE.Would like to see the Phillipines people cut off a limb from a child and see there re-action to that...Very Cruel All I can say is I hope they find who ever did that. The pix should be posted at some of the resturants who serve such items .