Shark Huggers! At least, they ate it... waste not, want not.

A MEGAMOUTH shark, one of the world's most elusive species, was caught, carved up and eaten by fishermen from a town in the Philippines, the environmental conservation group WWF said today.

So rare are megamouth shark sightings that each find is given a number - this one, caught by fishermen from the coastal town of Donsol - was the 41st ever seen or captured in the world. But Elson Aca, a Donsol WWF representative, said it was butchered and its meat sauteed in coconut milk as a local delicacy, against the organisation's device.

The 4m, half-tonne megamouth was snared by fishermen trawling for mackerel off the Bicol peninsula on Luzon island. The species, which is named after its metre-wide mouth, is a fairly recent scientific discovery. The first specimen was caught off Oahu, Hawaii in 1976. The scientific community hailed it as the 20th century's most significant marine find, the WWF said.