Going out on a limb here with this
absolutely unscientific theory about "sport caught shark mortality". It's an observation,
nothing more, but it has historical precedent. Here goes:
The Storming of the Bastille, Paris occurred on the 14 July, 1789. While the prison contained only seven prisoners and therefor was of no value to anyone, its fall was the flash point of the French Revolution, and it subsequently became an icon of Democracy. Heady stuff.
The attack on the Bastille was lead,
apparently, by a topless woman who was followed by some 500o screaming men waving small arms. She became known as the "Mother of the Revolution" and this opens the discussion to the power of women's, ah, breasts, to cause men to do seemingly irrational things.
Moving ahead.
Sport caught sharks have little value aside from the actual shark image and if current statistic hold true 98% of sport caught sharks are in fact caught by men. So why do they do it?
Back in 1980 the first "telling image" from Florida of a sport caught shark was transmitted to the world. This image caught the imagination and interest of millions as it made the front page of newspapers.
As you can see this was one impressive shark.
For sport caught sharks in Florida this was the dawn of the shark fishing era. Men from all over the state poured into the oceans like Drover Ants catching and killing as many sharks as they could all for that elusive dockside photo opportunity.
Like the unknown and unnamed "Mother of the French Revolution" this woman and this image became known as the "Mother of the Shark Fishing Revolution", a legacy that lives on to this day.
Today sport caught sharks are a regular feature in many marinas, public piers, and at fishing events worldwide.The reason for this mostly male activity remains as elusive as the the first day it was conceived, but I have a suspicion that it may have something to do with what I am terming "The Bastille Effect".
Oh,
you laugh now, and perhaps even throw a few snide comments about mental astuteness for conservation ideas and childish responses to images found on the Internet - but.
As you can see this "Bastille Effect" is all pervasive and it is fast becoming a hard fact of the sport caught shark world. These are the images we typically see of sharks brought back to marinas for photo opportunities.
Like I said this is a
totally unscientific theory and merely an observation at this point.
Clearly more observation is needed.
Apologies in advance to
offended feminists worldwide.
No this is not a serious post.
Funny - you play around in the shark world long enough and you start seeing names of people you have met, or worked with, or both.
