Rare shark fried for breakfast in Philippines

The megamouth shark is very rare, indeed one of the rarest of the shark family.

However, fishermen in the Philippines cut one up and cooked it yesterday after it died in their nets while they were fishing for mackerel off Donsol, Sorsogon in Bicol province.

Numbers are given to sightings of these rare sharks by the Florida Museum of Natural History, and this megamouth was number 41.

It was 4 metres long and weighed 500kgs.

Elson Aca, of WWF Donsol identified the specie but advised against butchering and eating it.

Nonetheless, the fishermen carved it into pieces and then poached it in coconut milk and red chili peppers to make “kinunot” in the style of the province of Bicol.

When pork is cooked the same way it becomes a popular local dish called “Bicol Express”.

The shark gets it name from its mouth, which is a metre-wide and has not long been identified.

The first megamouth was caught in 1976 off Oahu, Hawaii.

Marine biologists said at the time that it was the most important marine discovery of the century.

It is a filter feeder, one of only three species of that type, including whale sharks.

After more than 10 years of cooperation with the WWF, Donsol has now become an important centre for eco-tourism based on the presence of whale sharks.

It now creates a lot of revenue for Bicol province and is proud of its reputation as the world capital for whale sharks.