Angel shark caught and immediately released by angler in Negros Occidental

An angel shark was caught and immediately released by an angler in Cauayan, Negros Occidental.

In Kuya Kim's report on "24 Oras," Thursday, Kirby Moreno said that he initially thought that the catch was a rock.

"Kinuha talaga namin from bottom hanggang taas hindi talaga gumagalaw," Kirby said.

As he lifted it, it was also mistaken for a large stingray.

"Nung naiangat na namin, 'yung itsura niya is parang may pakpak," he said.

The creature turned out to be an angel shark, weighing around 20 kilos. It's called an angel shark because of its very wide fins that look like angel wings.

Known scientifically as Squatinidae, angel sharks are bottom dwellers, meaning they live on the seabed.

"Ang kanilang malalapad na palikpik ay perfectly adapted sa kanilang ambush predator lifestyle," Fisheries Management Regulatory Enforcement and Support Services Division OIC Nonie P. Enolva said.

Despite their angelic appearance, they are described as fierce hunters and are skilled at camouflage.

"Dagdag pa 'yung texture ng kanilang dorsal side na parang buhangin. Merong batik-batik na kulay na parang cryptic coloration para madali silang mag-blend sa buhanginan," Enolva said.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, many species of angel sharks are critically endangered.

Their vulnerability stems from factors like overfishing for meat, fins, and liver oil, being highly susceptible to bottom trawling because they live on the seabed, a slow reproduction rate, habitat destruction, coastal development, and pollution.

Recognizing that this type of fish was rare and forbidden to catch, Kirby decided to just take a photo and immediately return it to the sea.

"Basta endangered, release agad," he said. —Carby Rose Basina/MGP, GMA Integrated News