Taiwan fisherman catches huge dusky shark attacking fish farm in Penghu
台灣漁民在澎湖捕獲攻擊養魚場的巨大公牛鯊
| Adult female weighing 300 kilograms broke into fish pen off coast of Erkan Village on Xiyu Island
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A fisherman in Penghu caught a huge dusky shark weighing 300 kilograms and measuring 2 meters long on Sunday (June 4). The fisherman was checking on fish pens for the Tanhou Fish Farm near the coast of Erkan Village on Penghu’s Xihu Island on Saturday morning, reported LTN. He was going to feed the stock of cobia, also known as black kingfish, when he noticed blood and fish parts floating in the water. Upon closer inspection, he saw a large dark shadow and recognized that a shark had invaded the breeding pen and many cobia had escaped. After gathering up the netting to trap the large shark, he was able to tow it back to the harbor. This is the second time in the three years that a shark has attacked the fish stocks in the area, reported LTN. The last incident involved a bull shark, which damaged three pens and resulted in the loss of many sea carp. Typically, juvenile dusky sharks are found closer to the shore, and adults spend most of their time farther out to sea, living at an average depth of around 400 meters. However, the shark caught on Sunday was a fully grown adult, and a very large specimen. Adult dusky sharks usually average about 1.7 meters long and weigh between 160 and 180 kilograms, with females growing larger than males. The shark caught Sunday, at 2 meters long and 300 kilograms, was at the upper weight range of recorded specimens. The largest dusky shark ever recorded was reportedly 347 kilograms. According to locals, prior to the bull shark attack in 2020, there were no shark encounters near Erkan for over a decade. Wild fish stocks in the region have reportedly been on the decline, which leads some to believe that there is a problem with the local ecology and food chain. This has led some to fear that shark attacks on Penghu’s fish farms may become a more common occurrence, per LTN. |
|
| Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer | |
| 2023-06-04 |
