Fishermen discover fish over 24 ft long trapped in nets

The Buccament Bay beach, more popularly known for yielding vast amounts of the tiny “tri tri” fish, was this week the final resting place of one of the largest fish ever seen in the area.

When fisherman Verrol Adams went out to sea on Wednesday morning to retrieve his fishing net that had been set the night before,{{more}} he discovered the creature, later identified to be a basking shark, trapped and dead.

Adams told SEARCHLIGHT that he had placed his net in the sea just off the shoreline of the Buccament Bay Resort, some time after 6 p.m. on Tuesday. He said that when he and his fishing partner went out early the following morning to retrieve the net, they got the surprise of their lives.

‘I was standing on my fishing boat pulling up the line; it was heavy, but coming up,” Adams said of what was the beginning of the unforgettable experience.

“When I look down and I see the tail, I know it was a shark, and then I look back and I see the thing it stretch past my boat, that is when I realize how big the thing is.”

Adam’s fishing boat measures about eight feet long; the shark was officially measured at 24.5 feet long.

The veteran fisherman said that it was at this point that he and his sidekick called for other fishermen who were also out at sea, to help them pull the beast to shore.

Several attempts to do so proved futile.

The presence of the huge shark brought out curious onlookers from the community and surrounding areas, and initially sparked rumours that a whale had been caught.

Many people came out seeking photographs of the creature.

Fisheries officials, who later came on the scene, confirmed that the shark was a basking shark, not common to these waters.

According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, the basking shark is the second-largest living fish, after the whale shark, and one of three plankton-eating sharks.

The sharks have very small but sharp teeth, and catch and eat their food by filtering zooplankton, small fish, and invertebrates from up to 2,000 short tons. They feed at or close to the surface with their mouths wide open and gill rakers erect.

The basking shark is not known to be aggressive and the fish are not known to be a threat to humans.

Chief fisheries officer Jennifer Cruickshank-Howard told SEARCHLIGHT, after inspection by a fisheries officer, that the shark was deemed edible, but the villagers were advised against doing so.

She explained that because the time and cause of death of the shark could not be determined, it was not wise to use the fish as food.

Cruickshank-Howard also indicated that the ammonia content in the blood of the fish gave the animal’s meat a particular unpleasant odour.

The chief said that it was not possible to say why the giant shark was in these waters, or if others were around.

Meanwhile Adams, who indicated that he did not have any problems with the advice given by the fisheries department, said that his encounter this week would not deter him from going to sea.

His biggest concern is the loss of his fishing net.

“I don’t have a problem going in the water again, but as you can see the “chammel” nah good again.”(JJ)