A mutilated shark head found in the shores of Malapascua Island has prompted Daanbantayan LGU to order an investigation on how this happened and to arrest the culprit. | Photo courtesy of Daanbantayan LGU
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Municipality of Daanbantayan in northern Cebu has condemned the “grisly act of butchering sharks and other endangered species” after a mutilated shark head was found on the shores of Malapascua Island on Friday, July 8, 2022.
A probe on the incident is also underway.
In a social media post on Friday, the local government unit (LGU) of Daanbantayan in northern Cebu said they were informed of an incident through a Facebook post on the mutilated head of what appeared to be a tiger shark on Friday morning.
According to the LGU, its head was removed and dumped on the shores of Malapascua Island, while the rest of the body is thought to have been sold for human consumption.
“The Local Government Unit of Daanbantayan strongly condemns this grisly act of butchering sharks and other endangered species whose populations are in steep decline. Sharks play a significant role in promoting the ecological balance and protection of coral reefs. Thus, people should be reminded that it is unlawful to catch sharks or to sell, purchase, possess, transport and export, or to wound or kill these endangered species,” the LGU said.
Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura has already ordered the police and the officials of the Barangay Logon, Daanbantayan to conduct an investigation so that the LGU can take the appropriate actions.
“Mayor Sun Shimura has been left distraught after discovering the incident that he immediately ordered police chief, Police Major Marvin Inocencio and Barangay Logon officials to conduct an investigation for the LGU to take appropriate actions.
Mayor Shimura promised to hold offenders accountable for their illegal acts and shall be dealt with in accordance with existing laws,” read a portion of the statement.
According to the Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, sharks and rays are highly vulnerable species.Their life strategy of growing to a relatively large size, reaching sexual maturity late in life, and producing a small number of offspring exposes them to overexploitation, making it difficult for them to cope with common threats such as overfishing and habitat degradation.
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