40-Foot Large Whale Shark In Pakistan Waters

By: Pat Prescott
02/08/2012 11:07 PM ET

A 40-foot large whale shark was hauled in by a fisherman off the Coast of Pakistan on Tuesday after fisherman came across the body after it was already dead and decided to tow it in, which is the same fish found unconscious in the water 10 days earlier.

The 40-foot shark looks like a whale and it took five cranes to hoist the seven ton fish out of the water. Once it was out of the water, the carcass was sold for 1.7m Rupees or $18,750 American, The Express Tribune newspaper reports.

In 2008, considered the largest fish in the ocean, the rare whale shark was added to the World Conservation list as a threatened species. They mostly feed on plankton and small fish, and they have been seen larger than the 40-foot one found in Pakistan.

The largest on record was measured at 41.5 feet. The whale shark poses no threat to humans given the few opportunities. Divers have swum with the slow-moving behemoths sometimes they even caught rides on their backs.

There was one report of an incident where a diver in Mexico was playing with a whale shark and was nearly sucked into its large mouth but escaped unharmed.

Source: 40-Foot Whale Shark

Tags: 40-Foot, Whale Shark