Kenyan Fisherman Catches Wonder Shark

Kenyan fisherman Massoud Rashid (29) caught a shark weighing 3.5 tons in the Indian ocean, not far from the town of Mombasa. A lot of residents of the town rushed to the port to have a look at the unusual catch of a lucky fisherman.

Massoud Rashid told his story. He went into the sea at night with his father, Abdullah Mzee. The two men threw seven fishing nets in the water and lit lamps to attract fish’s attention. Soon they saw a big shark swimming in the water of the sea. The shark was chasing a shoal of fish and got caught in the net itself. Experienced fishermen quickly recognized a shark, which was not dangerous to human beings. It took Rashid and his father seven hours to cope with the big fish and to tug it to the old port of the town.

Local residents tore the shark to pieces: there is a tradition in the town to take pieces of big fish for luck. Massoud did not try to stop his townspeople: the shark’s meat was not edible anyway. He only kept the fish’s liver. Local fishermen produce oil from shark’s liver, which is then used either for medical purposes, or for greasing boats to prevent leaking.

Big sharks are very rare nowadays in the ocean of East Africa. The world-known horror movie “Jaws” by Steven Spielberg played a bad role for them. A lot of tourists wished to buy shark jaws as souvenirs. The demand was a lot bigger than the supply, which eventually resulted in the fact that a lot of sharks were killed for souvenirs. Man can beat bloodiest animals easily.