During informal interviews that have now taken place in more than 30 PNG villages, little booklets with photos of the different walking shark species are handed out, and locals are asked if they have come across any, and if they catch them do they eat them, release them or use them for anything. “We did see in Oro some of the markets near the (Tufi) resort were selling necklaces of the vertebrae, the backbone of the walking shark, but the lady said it’s not for traditional wear, it’s literally to sell for tourism. “But the people buying it don’t know it’s shark vertebrae, they just think it’s shells, so that’s sad. But the positive thing is that I know those communities eat the shark, so at least they’re using the whole shark.” Often there are local myths, including one from Rossel Island, the most eastern inhabited island in Milne Bay, where pregnant women are warned not to eat
the sharks or they will not have any breast milk to feed their baby! It is thought this story stems from the shark’s tendency to latch on with its mouth. “Most of the time people ask, ‘Do they bite? Are they dangerous?’ And I’m like, ‘They’re only this big, they’re not too bad’. Most people get very impressed when you say you catch sharks with your hands. I mean, I wouldn’t want to go and catch a tiger shark by hand but the little walking sharks are fine. “A few have warned us about grabbing them though. They say, ‘Be careful they don’t spin around and latch on to your shirt!’ We’ve been lucky that hasn’t happened.” The sharks do have little teeth but as Jess explains, it’s a grinding plate. “They kind of have suction and grind, I haven’t felt it but I imagine it’s more a rough sandpaper kind of feeling.” Most of the PNG searches for the sharks to date have focused
on the Milne Bay area, where Michael’s walking shark was first identified as a species in 2010 and named
after the man who first noted its distinctive colour patterns – avid US diver, coral fish researcher, author and former aquarium store owner Scott W. Michael. A team of local Milne Bay rangers has been trained on how to survey the sharks, and since June last year has weighed, measured, photographed and released over 200 individual animals as part of a 12-month project based at Conflict Islands Resort and funded
The research team prepare for another night dive from the Undersea Explorer liveaboard during one of their shark surveying trips in Milne Bay
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