Philippines task force seizes cargo of alleged young whale sharks

Delfin Mallari Jr., Philippines Inquirer 7 Apr 08;

LUCENA CITY -- A cargo of baby sharks, four of them allegedly from the “butanding” (whale sharks) species were intercepted in nearby Pagbilao town early Monday by a task force of provincial fishery officials and environmentalists, an official said.

Glenn Forbes, Tanggol Kalikasan-Southern Tagalog program officer, said that on Sunday evening a concerned citizen and a local government official from the coastal town of Calauag, Quezon province tipped them off through a mobile phone that several baby “butandings” would be transported to Manila.

“We were alarmed when we were told that several newly born ‘butandings’ from Lamon Bay would be smuggled out. We could not let that happen,” said Forbes.

He said he immediately alerted the Quezon Task Force Karagatan/Sagip Kalikasan headed by Allan Castillo of the provincial agriculture office and, along with several policemen, set up a checkpoint in front of the Pagbilao town hall.

At around 1 a.m. on Monday, the group flagged down a cargo jeepney being driven by one Alberto Abat.

When searched, the vehicle yielded live "lapu-lapu" (groupers) and assorted ornamental fish in several plastic bags with oxygen tubes attached to the containers.

Hidden among the piles was a plastic bag with oxygen, which contained nine newly born sharks measuring half a foot to one foot in length.

Forbes said the owner of the fish cargo, a certain Analie Abat from Barangay (village) Sto. Angel, Calauag, admitted that she owned the fish cargo, including the sharks which she also called “butanding.”

The shark has random white stripes and dots, markings similar to the “butanding.”

Abat, according to Forbes, claimed that she bought the sharks from local fishermen for P20 each and that she intended to deliver them to an undisclosed place in Metro Manila.

“Four of the baby sharks looked like ‘butanding’ but they also looked like ‘coral catfish’ shark species. We’re still awaiting the official confirmation from BFAR [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources] if it’s really butanding,” he said.

Forbes said four were confirmed to be “long tail carpet” while the species of the remaining one was still unknown.

He expressed alarmed that if the newborn shark species were confirmed to be “butanding,” most probably they would be smuggled out of the country.

Forbes said they allowed the fish traders to be released after several hours of investigation pending official confirmation of the shark species.

However, Castillo said there was no need for the official confirmation from BFAR. “The sharks were definitely not butanding,” he said.

The “butanding” is considered the biggest shark and the biggest fish in the sea, with some measuring up to 20 meters long and weighing up to 34,000 kilograms.

Two years ago, Lamon Bay fishermen celebrated the reappearance of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), indicating renewed vibrancy of marine life in the bay.

Whale sharks in Lamon Bay were common during the 1980s. They slowly disappeared because of irresponsible fishermen who feasted on their meat.

The group brought the shark species to TK office and placed them in an aquarium.

Unfortunately, three of the “long tail carpet” sharks died.

“We suspected that the sharks, including the groupers, were caught through cyanide fishing methods. And since they were newly born, their tender bodies were not able to withstand the toxic poison,” Zeny Bernal, TK marine office, said.