About Whale Sharks

Dear Editor,

The article "Gentle Giants of Taiwan's Seas-Whale Sharks," in your February 2002 edition (March overseas edition) states (p. 30): "The meat of the whale shark is a whitish color like tofu, so Taiwanese fishermen call whale sharks 'tofu sharks'"; and (p.33) ". . . whale sharks, with their coarse, tough meat and their low-quality fins compared with other shark species, had little commercial value. 'Until the 1970s, if fishermen out at sea happened to come across a sizeable whale shark, they would be terrified that their boat would be dragged along by it and perhaps capsize, so they did their best to steer clear of them.'" Whale shark meat is indeed white, and the fins are of low quality. But I would dispute the other reasons you state.

Most sharks have white meat, not only whale sharks. Whale shark meat has a high water content and a fine texture, so it is similar to tofu to the touch. This is why whale sharks are called "tofu sharks."

The reason fishermen used not to hunt whale sharks was not their "coarse, tough meat," but because 30 years ago, Taiwanese fishing boats were all small-around ten tons-and did not have powerful engines or lifting tackle. If a whale shark strayed into their nets, they would cut the nets to let it go. Adult sharks are huge, weighing at least several tons, so if they caught one they could not get it on board, and there would be nowhere to put it if they did. But whale sharks are very docile and slow moving, so if fishermen wanted to catch one they could easily attach a line to it and tow it back to port alive. However, such a large shark could only be towed very slowly. For example, it normally took a boat three hours to return from Kuishan Island to Nanfangao harbor in Ilan; but with a medium-sized whale shark in tow, the same journey took ten hours. When Prof. Juong of NTOU says in your article that fishermen were "terrified that their boat would be dragged along," he is presumably talking about the risk of towing a live shark. But most whale sharks really are "dumbos," and would rarely cause trouble.

From this we can see that the main reason fishermen didn't like whale sharks was that towing them slowed them down. In those days fishing harbors were strictly controlled, and usually no vessels were allowed in or out after 10 p.m. Hence fishermen were afraid of returning too late, and sometimes when they were halfway home they would cut the line on a shark in order to speed up and make it back before the curfew.

If fishermen did hunt sharks, they went after species with firm meat, suitable for making fish balls. The most popular were great whites weighing around 300 kilograms. Great whites that large are rare now, yet they were less than a tenth of the weight of even a small whale shark, so they were no problem to haul on board, and wouldn't slow down the boat. Whale shark meat was considered too soft and mushy, and therefore a low-grade catch. Hence most fishermen felt whale sharks were more trouble than they were worth. But from the 1980s larger boats came into use, mostly over 20 tons, with adequate engine power and lifting gear; and other fish stocks were drying up. Fishermen took the attitude that "if there are no fish, shrimp will do," and they started to hunt whale shark. Consumers also took a liking to the watery, tender texture of the meat, which is somewhat similar to cod. In the last decade it has become quite popular, so the price has risen sharply.

In my family we have occasionally bought whale shark meat, but our son, who is in the third year of junior high school, always refuses to eat it for conservation reasons. After reading your article I feel quite ashamed, and have decided to take a leaf out his book.

PS: 1. In your article "'Can-Do Cabinet' to Take Office in February," the statement (p. 75) that "the 'Ilan Gang' moniker reflects the fact that newly appointed ministers without portfolio Chen Chi-nan and Lin Sheng-feng. . . all come from Ilan County," is not correct. Although both Chen Chi-nan and Lin Sheng-feng have done work related to Ilan County in the past, neither is originally from Ilan, and neither has lived there. However, outgoing vice premier Lai In-jaw; minister without portfolio Hu Sheng-cheng, Veterans Affairs Commission chairman Yang Te-chih and Council of Labor Affairs chairwoman Chen Chu, all of whom have remained in office; and the newly appointed chairman and vice chairman of the national sports council, Lin Te-fu and Chu Shou-chien, are all Ilan born and bred.

2. In the picture caption on page 97, in "Rose House-Taiwan Takes its Tea in British Style," the well known English porcelain brand Wedgwood is misspelt as "Wedgewood."

Chen Ding-nan (Ilan County commissioner eight years, legislator ten years; now Minister of Justice)