The Killing of Sharks Should Not Be Your Sport
photo by Bill Fisher/333Productions
Imagine the energy of a homecoming game - hooting, hollering, and a competitiveness bubbling inside all of the participants to bring home the win. In this case, the big win = bloody, murdered sharks. There is no concern for environmental protection at shark fishing tournaments, and often, these cruel events are masked as charity events and receive many sponsors. Let’s be clear about one thing: you are not a charitable hero OR a courageous achiever for participating in these events. Your prize for winning a monster shark tournament? A dying ocean.
Anywhere from a handful to more than 100 boats gather in the early morning to begin a twelve-hour day of fishing. After ripping countless sharks out of the ocean, the fishermen return and hang the dead animals by their caudal fins, leaving them to swing in the air for onlookers to gawk at. Afterward, some of the sharks are eaten, used as chum or discarded.
Shark tournaments are an issue for us all. Sharks are an imperative species to the functionality of the ocean ecosystem and the entire earth.
With an estimated 70 tournaments each year on the East Coast of the U.S. alone, there can be 70,000 shark kills for an entire fishing season in the region. During an event, a number of sharks are dumped back into the ocean if not big enough to win a prize, which can be fatal for the shark. This number goes unreported.
photo by Mark Metcalfe
These tournaments put pressure on already threatened and endangered species like thresher, porbeagle and mako sharks by offering large sums of money to those who can land them. Additionally, the larger the shark, the larger the win. Participants in shark fishing tournaments will not stop until they find the biggest shark. Sharks that have had more time to mature and grow produce healthier and more frequent offspring, so these tournaments directly impact the reproduction rates of sharks. Although it appears that it’s just one shark ripped from the ocean, an entire potential generation is wiped out.
While commercial shark fishing poses a greater risk to shark populations, these tournaments are impeding the public’s view on shark conservation. Sharks’ lives are less of importance as their death becomes a sport. There must be a general understanding among us all - especially those who love to spend time on the ocean - that sharks must be protected.
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
The North Atlantic Monster Shark Tournament at Boston Big Game Fishing Club, Fairhaven, MA on July 22nd- 25th has been canceled!
It is unclear why this decision was made, but it seems likely that public pressure has at least brought a temporary win for sharks. We have to make sure that this will be a lasting effect and represent the end of Monster tournaments in this community.