A cargo of juvenile sharks, four of them allegedly whale sharks, were intercepted in Pagbilao town, Quezon province, by a task force of provincial fishery officials and environmentalists. 

Glenn Forbes, Tanggol Kalikasan-Southern Tagalog program officer, said that a concerned citizen and a local government official from the coastal town of Calauag, Quezon province tipped them off by mobile phone that several baby whale sharks would be transported to Manila.

 He alerted the Quezon Task Force Karagatan/Sagip Kalikasan headed by Allan Castillo of the provincial agriculture office and, along with several policemen, set up a checkpoint in front of the Pagbilao town hall and flagged down a jeepney being driven by one Alberto Abat. 

When searched, the officers found live "lapu-lapu" (groupers) and assorted ornamental fish in several plastic bags connected to oxygen tubes. 

Hidden among them was a plastic bag with oxygen, which contained nine newly born sharks measuring between six inches and twelve inches in length. 

Four of the baby sharks looked like whale sharks but they also looked like catfish shark species. The officials are still awaiting the official confirmation of the species.

Shark hunting reduces shark encounters 
The once-abundant population of thresher sharks (Alopias vulpinus) off the coast of Batangas city, 80 kilometres south of Manila, has hit "vulnerable" levels due to widespread hunting, said local tourism chief Cecil Rosales. 

While there is no large-scale trade in shark fins locally, Rosales said shark meat is being openly sold in public markets in Batangas and the nearby city of Lucena.  

A report by the local group First Philippine Conservation Inc. said at least 40 thresher sharks have been killed since December in coastal villages around Batangas city.