The shark in the video has since been identified as a Greenland shark, which do not attack humans and have an exceptionally long life-span (there exist conflicting reports of a Greenland shark living to 400-years-old). They are, however, registered as ‘near threatened’ on the conservation scale.
The appalling clip in question, which shows two fishermen cutting off the tail of a shark and then tossing it back into the sea while laughing, came to the attention of Momoa, who was incensed by what he saw.
anon homie
In an emotional Instagram post, Momoa, who played Aquaman in the 2018 Hollywood hit, lashed out at the men responsible, describing them as “pure evil.”
“We all make mistakes but what u did was evil PURE EVIL,” Momoa wrote.
“You will get what that shark got.”
Backlash
The two fishermen responsible have been hit with a wave of backlash on social media, whilst they could also face legal consequences. It’s believed they could receive a hefty fine and even potential jail time if found guilty under Iceland’s animal cruelty laws. Sadly at this point, however, a debate has risen regarding whether or not they can even be held accountable for their crime.
Speaking to Icelandic news outlet RUV, lawyer Árni Stefán Árnasson said: “If no law covers this then they cannot be punished. This is a difficult matter because when the laws were drafted certain species of animals were excluded, including all the wild fish. So it’s a gray area legally to see if this is punitive or not.”
Watch the video of the incident below. WARNING, footage may be distressing to some:
https://youtu.be/-4co9AGfUOk
In any case, we think Jason Momoa has the right of it: these men have committed a terrible, terrible crime. To mutilate an animal and then release it knowing that it’s sure to die a painful death is simply beyond cruel. We can only hope the perpetrators get what they deserve.
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