One of world's rarest sharks caught, eaten

A megamouth shark, one of the world's most elusive species, was caught, carved up and eaten by fishermen from a town in the Philippines.

A megamouth shark, one of the world's most elusive species, was caught, carved up and eaten by fishermen from a town in the Philippines.

So rare are megamouth shark sightings that each find is given a number this one, caught by fishermen from the

oh no: The shark that was eaten. pic/afp

coastal town of Donsol, was only the 41st ever seen or captured in the world.

But Elson Aca, a WWF representative, said it was butchered and its meat sauteed in coconut milk as a local delicacy, against the organisation's advice.

The four-metre, half-tonne megamouth was snared by fishermen trawling for mackerel off the Bicol peninsula on Luzon island.

The species, which is named after its metre-wide mouth, is a fairly recent scientific discovery. The first specimen was caught off Hawaii in 1976.