Divers find whale shark with fins, tail sliced off
By Marrah Erika Lesaba, Alcuin Papa
Inquirer Southern Luzon, Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:44:00 02/17/2010
BATANGAS CITY…—A dead whale shark without fins and a tail was buried
on the shores of Tingloy Island on Tuesday morning, inscribing a sad
epilogue to a Manila conference of 50 nations for the protection of the
endangered fish species.
Locally known as “butanding,” the juvenile whale shark (Rhincodon
typus) was found at 9:30 a.m. on Monday by a group of foreign and local
divers in Barangay Maricaban on the island, 44 kilometers from this
city.
It was still alive but “very weak” when the group left it at 5 p.m.,
said Rey Manalo, head of the Bantay-Dagat (sea patrol) in Tingloy.
Manalo said the whale shark, measuring 18 feet, could have gotten
accidentally entangled in a net laid out by a group of island fishermen
who were catching fish nearby.
They must have tried to rescue the creature with their bare hands
but could not do so without cutting its fins and tail, he said.
Since it could no longer swim, the hapless giant fish was placed in
cool waters with Bantay-Dagat personnel watching over it, Manalo said.
Unfortunately, it died on Monday night and was buried on the shore the
next morning, he said.
More pictures of the whaleshark slaughter in Tingloy. Photos by Wandy Kwok
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=3&aid=146163&id=540684152#!/album.php?aid=146173&id=540684152
3 Comments
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Something does not sound right…
“They must have tried to rescue the creature with their bare hands
but could not do so without cutting its fins and tail, he said.”
???
My thoughts exactly, KaylinQ…
Ano daw? I’d like to “rescue” those fishermen if they were drowning, but i’d have to cut their arms and legs off first.
…and I wonder where those severed fins and tail are right now…???