Taiwan is the first producer and consumer of shark meat on the planet (fifty thousand tons a year). It is also one of the only places in the world where  rhinocodon (the “whale-shark”) is eaten. Despite the rhinocodon inscription on the BONN convention identifying wildlife in need of protection, Taiwan is the last country where fishing this animal is authorized. Lobster investigated this for Thalassa. Aired in 2004, Thalassa, directed by Philippe Lallet.

The catching of rhincodon begain in Taiwan in the 1970s. At the time, when fishermen came across the “whale-shark”, they were terrified of capsizing because of the giant fish.
More recently though, because of the decrease in fishing and the invention of new recipes in restaurants, the rhinocodon has gained in popularity. Its white flesh which resembles Japanese soy cheese gives it its nickname: “tofu-shark”. It has now become the ultimate delicacy in Taiwanese gastronomy.

The soaring of rhinocodon fishing over the past years threatens a short term transformation of the species and on the long term its extinction. Consequences are already perceptible. For the past decade, specimens caught are younger and younger and smaller and smaller.

Today, the Taiwanese authorities are attempting to regulate this activity by imposing a fishing quota: 80 rhinocodons per year. But despite these efforts, its poaching is tolerated and goes over the limitations imposed by the authorities. The majority of rhinocodons get caught in hundreds of fishnets lining the island’s East coast, from March to May and from October to December. But a large portion of the rhinocodon meat eaten in Taipei is illegally imported from China, from the Philippines, from Indonesia and from India.

For the past 12 years, Prof. Joung Shoou-Jeng, a teacher and researcher at the National Taiwan Ocean University, has been studying these unusual sharks. His objective is not to ban their capture, but to determine a fishing period in order to limit the numbers and to prevent the catching of smaller specimens.
For the professor, this is essentially a question of changing Taiwanese mentalities and culinary habits. The first measure would be to remove the rhinocodon dishes from restaurant menus, as has already been done for dolphin steaks.

Oung Shoo-Jeng is also engaged in developing tourist activities around the rhinocodon. The placid nature of the animal and its imposing size make it an unavoidable attraction that could generate considerable income for the fishermen.
But changing mentalities in not easy and the “Whale-shark watching” concept has yet to seduce the fishermen. Professor Oung is not discouraged, however, and remains convinced that these efforts will eventually create a friendship between the whale-shark and man!
 

THALASSA "The Rhinocodon: a shark made in Taiwan"
Directed by Philippe LALLET - 48 mins