Profits from a Dead Whale Shark
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| Photo Courtesy of NOAA |
A 40 foot Whale Shark was found in the Arabian Sea in the port city of Karachi, Pakistan about 10 days ago. The shark is as big as a school bus and the mouth as tall as a man. Internationally a lot of people profited from this dead Whale Shark and many jobs were created.
This massive Whale Shark was found by a fishing trawler "unconscious" but still alive, floating in the water 93 miles (150 kilometers) from shore. The shark died by the time the trawler towed the 6 to 7 ton female to shore; the only signs of distress was an injured fin. The crew of the trawler paid to have cranes haul the dead shark out of the water at Charai Fishery with the intention of auctioning their catch.
Initially 2 cranes were brought in to lift the shark but they soon realized the fish was much too heavy, so they brought in 3 more heavy duty cranes to assist with the lift. It took 4 hours and the 5 cranes to lift the fish from the water and damage was done to the wharf in the process. The cost of the 5 cranes was a lot more than the fisherman expected so their profit was only a few thousand each, much less than they thought.
Soon after landing on the wharf the dead shark was auctioned off in Karachi for approximately $18,000 (1.7 million Rupees). The new owner of the dead shark secured permission to display the shark for 3 days in the harbour's auction hall and his intention is to charge admission to view this rare spectacle. Local unconfirmed reports say the new owner of the Whale Shark carcass was arrested by local maritime police who were unsure what to charge him with.
It took no time for a the large crowd to gather and watch the spectacle. Vendors arrived selling food and trinkets. People jumped in the water and danced on the dead shark. The water in the harbor was stained red, not from shark blood but from hundreds of people spitting Paan into the water.
This video shows the fish being hoisted from the water and the chaos that erupted.
View a slide show with great photo's on BBC News.
After displaying the fish for 3 days it will be sold to a meat processing business to produce poultry feed. I can't imagine the meat being very fresh after being dead for 10 days then on display for another 3 days in 60 degree weather.
This is not the first time a huge fish has been towed ashore, creating a circus show on the wharfs of Pakistan. It has been reported that about 35 whale sharks have been brought dead or captured by fishing nets in the last seven years into the Karachi port.
Who Profited?
Speaking of profiting from this magnificent creature's death, here are my unofficial estimates of the money spent internationally:
- Fisherman spend $$ on fuel to tow the fish in to port
- A crane company makes $$ on the rental of 5 huge cranes to haul the fish out of the water
- The crane operators earned wages
- The fisherman make $18,000 selling the dead shark
- The new owner of the dead shark pays to rent space in the harbour's auction hall
- Spectators pay $$ to view the shark
- Food and trinket vendors made $$ selling their goods on the wharf to spectators
- Photographers sold photo's to international photo & video brokers
- International photo brokers receive $$ by selling photo's and videos to news organizations
- Meat processor pays $$ for the carcass after the show is over
- Workers get paid to cut up the carcass and process it
- Workers get paid to repair the damaged wharf
- Wages are spent for authorities to investigate the legality of the taking of the fish along with fuel for their boats
- If the new owner of the dead shark was arrested, he might be paying for a lawyer, fines, etc.
Now here is something to talk about, this poor dead Whale Shark has his own Twitter page @The_Whale_Shark. The Whale Shark has 25 Followers so far and is Following 23 including The Wall Street Journal.
Sharks are Worth More Alive
Shark encounters around the world are a popular tourist attractions for both snorkelers and divers looking for an exhilarating adventure. Ecotourism generates millions for local economies and creates jobs. A website called Shark Savers has a great webpage The Value of Sharks giving examples of how sharks are worth more alive than dead.
