One of the most elusive sharks (for shark divers) is rapidly declining in the Philippines-according to recent reports.The whole story is sadly familiar, poor fishermen who have run out of traditional fish stocks now targeting this rare and beautiful animal for it's fins.
Surprisingly a recent illegal fishing bust at the Socorros, Mexico revealed a healthy population of Threshers at this site as well...caught in the nets.
BATANGAS CITY – The Philippines may soon lose its thresher sharks – listed as “vulnerable” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature – if their slaughter for meat and fins continues unchecked.
“The extent of the fishery situation with regard to the thresher sharks in the Batangas Bay area is absolutely – in my honest, scientific opinion – not sustainable,” Dr. Simon Oliver, shark specialist and chair of the Thresher Shark Research and Conservation Group based in the United Kingdom, said.
