Sharks, crustaceans washed ashore, nothing superstitious

CEBU CITY – With Filipinos believing in many superstitious and fantastic claims of divine miracles or anything paranormal, the sudden appearance of crustaceans, especially shrimps along the shorelines of Leyte and Negros Oriental provinces sparked fears among many and frenzy harvest to the others believing the phenomena was God given.

This happened recently following a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Mindanao, but the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) allayed fears the surfacing of shrimps and even megamouth sharks had nothing to do with the earthquake and not even paranormal.

The megamouth shark is a species of deepwater shark. Rarely seen by humans, it measures around 17 ft long and is the smallest of the three extant filter-feeding sharks alongside the relatively larger whale shark and basking shark. 

Johann Tejada, technical assistant of BFAR-Central Visayas, said the washing ashore of crustaceans was a sign that the biodiversity of the coastal water is clean thus complementing the marine life in an area. He made the clarifications after videos that went viral on social media showing residents gathering shrimps along the shoreline of San Vicente village in Leyte’s Hindang town.

“One reason is the complex dynamics at sea. In general, quality seawater has an impact on marine life. Quality seawater also means food that can make the marine life in an area productive,” Tejada said.

He also said the emergence of megamouth sharks found washed ashore in Silago town in Southern Leyte, and the village of Domolog in the town of Bindoy in Negros Oriental could not also be associated scientifically with the earthquake that struck Sarangani province in Mindanao.

Another megamouth shark, he said, was washed also ashore in Aurora. Giant fish would usually wash ashore if their navigational sensory organs went dysfunctional and became disoriented while chasing their food such as small fish and shrimps, he said, explaining that “marine mammals are the most vulnerable to being washed ashore due to diseases from ingesting garbage at sea.”

Last year, a megamouth shark washed ashore in the remote area of Gubat in Sorsogon town. The photo of the deepwater fish was first posted on Facebook by the BFAR spokesperson Nonie Enolva on June 11 from where it was picked up by other publications and social media platforms. (John Rey Saavedra and Cebu Examiner)