A great specimen of shark is caught on the beach of Baracoa

A shark weighing over 500 kilograms was captured in the coastal area of Yumurí, Baracoa, according to a viral post in the Facebook group "BARIGUA EN MI CORAZÓN. Culture and tradition."

The photographs, shared by Joelmis Núñez, the group's administrator, show about twenty people—among them children, young people, and even a police officer—gathered on the rocky shore around the animal, with the water stained red and the shark already cut and processed into sections.

The comments on the post sparked a debate about the species of the animal.

Some users identified it as a shortfin mako shark, while others pointed to it as a porbeagle shark.

"It is a shark of great ocean depths. Mako shark, harmless," wrote one.

Another commentator issued a more serious warning: "It's a porbeagle shark; its meat is not suitable for consumption, not even by a Cuban. They would be eating mercury and urea, even through their eyes. That is an animal respected and preserved by the rest of the world. But well... Cuba has already ceased to be part of the world."

Both species are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates their trade.

But the scene does not surprise those who are familiar with the reality of Baracoa. The province of Guantánamo reports that 78.7% of households are in a state of hunger, according to the Food Monitor Program (FMP), one of the highest rates in the country.

Nationally, a survey revealed that one in three Cuban households experienced hunger in 2025, and in April 2026, the FMP estimated that 96.91% of the population lacked adequate access to food.

In that context of desperation, Cubans have turned to consuming unconventional wildlife. Hunting insectivorous birds, iguanas, jutías, and snakes has become a survival strategy in recent years, and even pitirres were being sold for 400 pesos in some informal markets.

It is not the first time a large shark has been captured on the Baracoa coast: in April 2022, fishermen caught another specimen.

"In Cuba, not even predators are safe from being eaten by Cubans; they get their hands on everything," summarized a commentator.

Another put it more bluntly: "That shark didn't take his pills, and look where it ended up, kid; there, hunger rises before the sun."