Authorities are investigating the death of an endangered whale shark that washed ashore on a beach in Myeik Archipelago.
The whale shark, a female, was estimated to be about 26-foot-long (7.9m) and its remains could have been floating for up to six days, according to Department of Fisheries official Nyi Nyi Lin Htut.
It was discovered by residents in Kyunsu township’s We Kyun village, who then told the fisheries department, reported Eleven Media.
The whale shark died of injuries, said Nyi Nyi Lin Htut, who visited the site on December 16. Their findings have been sent to the Department of Marine Science at Myeik University.
“We found a wound about eight inches to one foot long running down it’s back,” he said.
As the world’s largest fish species, whale sharks can reach lengths of 40 feet (12.1m). But the filter feeders are known to be docile creatures, preferring warm waters and therefore populating tropical seas.
They are a protected species under international and Myanmar law, as the meat is sold for food, the fins are sold to restaurants for shark fin soup, the skin is sold to manufacturers for bags, and the oil is sold to companies that make fish oil supplements.
In this case, locals pulled the heavy carcass to the shore and buried it, added Nyi Nyi Lin Htut.
