The mutilated carcase of 300 thresher sharks have been found dumped on the side of the road in the Mexican state of matter of Michoacan , 240 kilometers ( 150 Roman mile ) from the ocean .
In what is now call up to be a cartel - link up larceny – of the truck carrying the shark , not of the shark themselves – the frozen carcase were discover gutted , finned , and dumped in the town of Yurécuaro , an area screw for local drug cartel fury and crime .
When resident came across the carcass – around 250 in traveling bag and 50 uncovered – scattered along the La Piedad - Guadalajara highway , there were concern they could be human remains , according to Mexican news websiteMarquesina . Local authorities were straightaway notified , and the sharks were garner and taken away .
According to astatementfrom the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection ( PROFEPA ) , the shark had been de jure fished in the states of Sonora and Sinaloa , in the magnetic north , and the frigid carcase were being hold by truck to Mexico City when cartel thieves likely hijacked the truck and dumped its consignment .
thresher shark sharks are not a protect species in Mexico , which means it is legal to fish them – and need for thrasher , in particular , is high . Their long pointy fanny – used to slash about and stun fair game – can reach the distance of their entire body and are very lucrative in the shark trade . Their hides are also used for leather and vegetable oil from their livers is processed and used in vitamins .
However , theIUCN Red Listlists all species of thresher as Vulnerable due to their pass up populations . A combination of being a slow - grow species that only attain matureness at between 8 - 14 geezerhood of age when they have diminished litter , and the gamy rate of mortality due to piscary , both as a target and as bycatch , means they are use up rapidly .
“ This species is especially vulnerable to fisheries exploitation ( target and by - haul ) because its epipelagic habitat occurs within the ambit of many largely unregulated and under - reported gillnet and longline piscary , in which it is pronto overtake , ” the IUCN listingstates .
Gillnets , of course , have fare under a lot of fire recently due to the deplorable plight of the vaquita porpoise , which could go extinct in our lifetime as there are now fewer than 30 left . Attempts to salve the pocket-sized cetacean , which only live in the Gulf of California , had to beabandoned after one diedduring a last - ditch effort to save them by affect them off from pee where they often end up capture in the lucre as by-catch .
