A few days ago, this video clip showing a snorkeler swimming with a Megamouth Shark was released on the web and made News worldwide.
On further investigation I found out that this news bit was only the tip of the ice berg. The story started towards the last week of May, when Bethany Smith travelled from UK to Taiwan, in search of the elusive Megachasma pelagios (Megamouth Shark). In Taiwan, Bethany met with Shark researcher Chi-Ju Yu (Debbie) and Underwater Videographer Zola Chen. Together they joined two local fishermen on their boats, with the hope that they can find and tag a Megamouth Shark.
In the first five trips spread over a two week period, they had no Megamouths. On the 3rd. of June, their luck changed and they had two sharks in the nets. The first was a female of approx. 4m and the second was a male of around 3.5m. Debbie and the fisherman quickly tagged and released both sharks as Zola filmed the moment.
Four days later, on the 7th. of June, Bethany was joined by Zola on her last trip, While the nets were being pulled up, a huge 5m female was found. The two went into the water to release the shark. This was the moment captured in the above video by Zola. It is believed that this Megamouth Shark was again caught in the nets a few minutes later and released again!
For someone who was hoping to find 1 shark, Bethany, Debbie & Zola discovered and helped save 3 Megamouths within 4 days of the 3 week adventure.
And that is not all!
Whilst researching the above, I found out that sometime during May, another 5 Megamouths were tagged and released by the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI). Data about these sharks is currently withheld.
This brings the total number of recorded Megamouths to 294, of which 166 are from Taiwan.
It is worth remembering that in November 2020, the Taiwanese authorities enacted laws that totally protect the Megamouth Shark. The restrictions require that all Megamouths caught in Taiwanese waters are to be returned to the sea, regardless of whether or not they are alive when caught. Fishing operators must report any catches to authorities on returning to port.
