Picture taken by Elson Aca of WWF

The Philippines is on the spot light again as fishermen from Donsol, Sorsogon caught and ate a rare species of shark. The catch, a megamouth shark, was the 41st ever seen or caught of its kind in the world. It measured 4 meters long and weighed around 500 kilos. It died in captivity while struggling . Despite getting an advice  from WWF local project manager Elson Aca, the fishermen continued to butcher and cook it in coconut milk.

The megamouth shark species were discovered in 1976 off Oahu, Hawaii. It was labeled as such because of its meter-wide mouth but tiny teeth. It is a filter feeder that preys on tiny animals and appears to be no danger to humans.

Only 40 megamouth sharks, including 8 in the Philippines, have been found since the initial discovery. The shark is so rare that the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the megamouth species as “data deficient.”