BUKA – A Bougainvillean couple was surprised when an unfamiliar and monster fish species was caught in their fishing net last week.
It was a sawfish, also known as a carpenter shark — not a shark but a fish of the rays family.
According to eyewitness, Robert Plak, the couple from Wakunai was fishing in a canoe about 100 metres away from the shore when they felt a large sea creature caught in the net.
Mr Plak said it was hard for the couple to pull it to the shore.
Thinking that it might be a large fish or a shark, the couple called a group of villagers to help pull the sawfish to the shore, during which time they realised that it was a strange creature, said Mr Plak.
The sawfish “has a long, narrow, flattened rostrum or nose extension, lined with sharp transverse teeth, arranged so as to resemble a saw”, according to Wikipedia.
“The locals said they have never seen a sea monster with such features in their lifetime,” Mr Plak said.
Nevertheless the villagers ripped up the flesh for an evening dinner.
“They cut the fins and removed the internal organs and prepared a good meal,” Mr Plak added.
Sawfish is categorised among critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They are on the verge of being extinct because of overfishing and climate change resulting in habitat loss.
The capture of the sawfish in Wakunai was a rare occasion.
