Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Megamouth shark caught, eaten in Philippines


Just the 41st megamouth shark ever identified was caught and eaten by fishermen in the Philippines. The fish was caught at a depth of 660 feet, really deep for divers. So it must have been a bottom trawler net, a net that scrapes the bottom of the ocean. this type of fishing is terrible for the environment, because the net catches everything on the bottom, destroys eco system of ocean floor. It also catches fish and other critters that are not edible but usually die and are thrown back in ocean. then again, these fishermen eat mostly shark, so they were just trying to feed their villages. This is good example of the ethics of environmentalism - hungry villagers eat an endangered species of shark: what is more important, feeding hungry poor villagers of protecting a shark species? The shark was already dead when net was reeled in (most fish die in these bottom nets), so what should they have done with a dead shark other than eat it? Could the villagers be introduced to other fishing that is more sustainable? Do they have to use bottom nets, do they have to eat sharks? Is there no affordable and effective alternative for them?

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