Fishermen reel in shark the size of a school bus

I'm calling b.s. on the "found unconscious" claim. You've got an $18,000 fish on your line, and you know it's on the semi-protected list, do you throw it back, or do you claim it's dying to save face?

Who would spend 18 grand on a dying fish without knowing what caused the animal to die?

Currently it's not illegal to fish for whale sharks, but it is severely frowned upon as it is soon to be on the endangered list.

This is a tragic loss. Nature is recalling all the best of the planets amazing creatures. This is a sign of doom.

Edit to say I agree with fugitivesoul posting above me here, that was my first hit too.

reply to post by FugitiveSoul


It would be worth much more if it was not rotting already.
Please, the poor thing has already suffered.

Watson....sniff sniff

Please...

Stick to the topic..

Thank you for your cooperation

Originally posted by LongbottomLeaf
reply to post by pianopraze

 

What I'm saying is why even post it it's a freakin whale shark whats the news here?

edit on 7-2-2012 by LongbottomLeaf because: (no reason given)

This is a beautiful majestic creature, and as I posted in my OP... it makes me sad to see such a majestic animal like this. When they got it on the peer people climbed on it and started jumping up and down... it's just, sad.

reply to post by pianopraze


Then why the sensational headline? If you cared you would have titled it something other than what you did.

Originally posted by LongbottomLeaf
reply to post by pianopraze

 

Then why the sensational headline? If you cared you would have titled it something other than what you did.

The headline was copy and pasted from the MSNBC article quoted in the OP.

Here's some more info I found, scientist say this:

National Institute of Oceanography’s biologist Dr Hina Baig said that the whale-shark must have lost its way and become stuck in the shallow waters. “Whales use eco-sounds to find their way in water and if a large ship comes in the way, they get disoriented.”
Whales live in deep waters and rarely visit Pakistan’s relatively shallower coast, she said. “But the period between November and January is crucial since they come here to find food and get stuck.”

link

But seems there are several stories in there about how it died. Maybe you all are right to be suspicious.

Here are some of the other stories they are telling:

But the fishermen who found the whale-shark were conspicuous by their absence. Others made up for a lack of fact by telling each other fictions, that a short four-foot tall Bengali fisherman had jumped onto the whale with a knife and killed it. Others said that diesel was poured on to its gills to suffocate it. An elderly fisherman with missing teeth boasted that whale-sharks had tried to swallow him twice and it couldn’t be killed.

Originally posted by LongbottomLeaf
reply to post by pianopraze

 

Then why the sensational headline? If you cared you would have titled it something other than what you did.

a whale shark is a FISH... a SHARK.. not a whale.

Intentionally misleading the forum by omitting ONE word (whale) in the thread title is pathetic...

2nd

reply to post by prevenge


And that has what to do with my previous post?

reply to post by coastlinekid


www.abovetopsecret.com...

I can see you missed some very relevant information about this story.
Nice to know you are interested in the Whale Shark...

It was found already passed away ...sadly ...you know dead.

The Whale Shark might have been 100 years old, its nearly a record in
its length.

Who knows what science secrets this great creature has?

reply to post by pianopraze


The Whale Shark is a massive, beautiful creature...
But Honestly, I was hoping it was like a giant Great White

Originally posted by burntheships
reply to post by pianopraze

 

Hopefully since he was already passed away, they will find out some
amazing things about these creatures.

Poor thing, dont want it floating out there just rotting.

Well having it out there rotting is probably the best thing that could have happened...

So many creatures in the sea rely on other things dying to stay alive. A whale shark is 4000 pounds of food to go around for all the hungry guys in the sea. This is why sea food stinks if its going bad. And because of the composition of the sharks skin it wont deteriorate until its starting to be eaten. Honestly i'm suprised it didn't get eaten quicker. If it was sitting around for a couple days they're lucky they got it in one piece.

I would hardly think that a whale shark is anything to be proud of catching. I am sure they are pretty peaceful creatures. Well humans at their best i suppose. I would say plenty more fish in the sea but when it comes to this species i am sure that they are relatively rare.( i may be wrong though)

Now if it was a great white my view may have swayed a bit, as long as it was determined that the shark was running the coast line to feed on swimmers but my opinion, I think we should maybe steady on a bit.

Originally posted by LongbottomLeaf
reply to post by pianopraze

 

It's a whale shark......

How observant of you , considering that fact was already mentioned in the opening post .

Back on topic . That is one BIG fish and I for one would not like to come face to face with one in the open sea , even though it is a filter feeder

reply to post by pianopraze

The article says the local fishery owner says it is unconscious at the time, implying it was still alive. But some other reports (which you highlight in red) and the source isnt stated, say the whale shark was seen dead on ten days ago,. First, it could be a different fish, secondly why would the fishermen retrieved it if it was already dead, the whole thing would be riddled with parasites and rotten flesh. Thirdly, I believe the article said the dead fish had travelled 93miles since it was spotted on 'ten days ago' is that possible?
my theory is, they caught the fish alive, killed it, and so it for £18,000. Thats how the world goes round. Another reason to back myself up is within the article where it mentions the whale shark being listed as endangered since 2008, which I believed makes hunting the fish illegal? So that would explain a shady, unfitting story of how they came about the beast. Plus after 10+ days at sea this thing would be nowt but a pile of bones, it would be torn to shreds by sharks, plus thousands of other scavenfers! When something this size dies, it means food for half the bloody ocean..

Is it really fishing when you haul in a carcass you already knew was there? lol

shame, its a rare animal