The last recording of this species being captured was in the 1930s by a skipper at Lakes Entrance in Eastern Victoria.
The 6.3-meter basking shark was caught by a trawler at Portland, west of Warrnambool, in Victoria on Sunday.
“Basking shark fins would be highly sought because they’re very big,” Dr. Martin Gomon said.
Dr. Martin Gomon praised the fisherman for contacting the Melbourne Museum, saying he had great respect for him.
“Basking shark fins would be highly sought because they’re very big,” Dr. Gomon told news Corp.
“This basking shark’s pectoral fins were probably over a meter in length and 60cm or more wide, and there were two of those. Its cuttle fin probably spans 1 meter to 1.2 meters. There are other fins too: the pelvic fins.”
Dr. Gomon said, along with another scientist, he had to use a crane to lift the mammoth fish out of the boat, and then it took an astounding five hours to cut the shark into pieces so they were manageable to be carried.
It took a crane to lift the shark out of the boat and another five hours to cut it into small enough pieces to carry.
The shark’s pectoral fins were more than a meter in length and 60cm or more wide, and the cuttle fin spanning about 1 meter to 1.2 meters.
Museum Victoria senior collections manager Dianne Bray said the museum has gill arches from the shark in the 1930s, which was the only time that century.
