Whale shark snared by Chinese fishermen

[Viktor Jarikov]

http://news.yahoo.com/massive-whale-pho ... 20207.html

"A Chinese fisherman caught a massive whale shark in the waters off Fujian province over the weekend. Photos of the 13-and-a-half-foot, 2-ton fish being transported to market through the streets of Xiaozhi have caused a bit of a stir in China, where the whale shark is endangered.

But according to local media reports, Capt. Cai Chengzhu says his fresh catch was an accident — and that the giant shark became stuck in his net and died while the crew was trying to release it.

“It's believed that the giant creature broke the net and got inside to eat the fish we caught," Chengzhu told local media, according to the Daily Mail. "It was really unfortunate and we did our best to free it, but having caught it and because it was already dead, it seemed a shame to waste it."

Chengzhu said he was hoping to get between 10,000 and 20,000 yuan for his fishy freight before he was stopped by Fujian fishery officials, the Independent reports.

The whale shark (or Rhincodon typus) was first discovered in South Africa in 1829. It is the largest known extant fish species and can get as long as 30 feet — twice as big as the one Chengzhu snared — and can live up to 100 years."

Sounds a bit fishy to me. They may go for fish but this is not their normal diet. So breaking through the net to get at the fish is suspicious to me.

[Dragonrat]

I've seen videos of them doing it, so it's not impossible. However, I've developed a healthy scepticism when it comes to Chinese or Japanese fishermen says they caught something by accident. I'll try to find the footage I've seen, though.

[Dragonrat]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqGYrlxWcdU

[CoryfanAad]

Wow, nice vid !!!!

[Viktor Jarikov]

Nice indeed! I guess I stand corrected. They do go after (small?) fish too.

[Dragonrat]

I suppose, if it fits ...

It's only bringing them into contention with the fishermen, though, which is never a good thing.