The reason fishermen used not to hunt whale sharks was not their "coarse, tough meat," but because 30 years ago, Taiwanese fishing boats were all small-around ten tons-and did not have powerful engines or lifting tackle. If a whale shark strayed into their nets, they would cut the nets to let it go.
過去漁民不捕鯨鯊，不是因為「肉質粗硬」的緣故，而是三、四十年前，漁船都在十噸左右，動力小、容量少，加上缺乏起重機器，偶爾遇到豆腐鯊誤闖網內，都還不惜破網放生。