It was a sad week for activists lobbying against the practice of shark hunting especially since many species are on the brink of extinction. But that thought didn’t even flicker across the minds of the ecstatic fishermen who caught not one, but three giant sharks in a matter of days in Shandong recently.

On September 8, fishermen in Rizhao made a killing –literally and allegorically – when they caught a ten meter long shark that weighed over 10,000 kg. The shark was caught in the early morning and took two hours to reel in. Reports say the shark later died “naturally” (in other words they let it die a slow, agonizing death) and the meat sold for 10 RMB for 500g, bringing the total value of the shark to 202,000 RMB. 

On September 11, fishermen at the same port in Rizhao once again hit the jackpot, catching another two sharks, the longest of which was five meters. That shark was promptly chopped up into tiny pieces and the fate of the other one remains unknown.

What’s “weird” about this story is not that a giant shark was caught, but that not one news report on China media suggested that this story is something to be ashamed of. Sharks have been on the planet longer than dinosaurs, yet their numbers are depleting from over-hunting. This has caused great harm to the ocean ecosystems. Moreover, there have been long-running campaigns worldwide to stop shark finning in Asia – a practice that is deemed barbaric and inhumane.  

For more information on shark finning and what you can do to stop it, check out: http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/.

Source: gmw.cn

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Keywords: giant sharks caught in Shandong