Sharkfishing tournament. A silver lining?

They just posted the results of the 2014 Ocean City Shark tournament here

The bad news, they killed 15 sharks, 7 blue-, 6 mako- and 2 thresher-sharks.

The good news, they released 107 sharks. The prize money for the release division was slightly higher than that of the weigh in (kill) division.

releasing a shark

I don't like shark tournaments, I love the sharks and want to protect them and not have them killed by fishermen. Many conservationists feel the same way I do and are working to get these kinds of tournaments eliminated.

Instead of demonizing the fishermen and questioning their character, like a lot of others do, I want to acknowledge that the organizers are making an effort to lessen the impact those tournaments have on the shark populations. It has always been Shark Diver's position to try to work with fishermen, to educate them about the problems associated with shark fishing and get them to at least, practice catch and release, if not stop fishing for sharks altogether. That was how the shark free marina initiative got started.

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO Shark Diver

About Shark Diver . As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives,
Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.

USA. Guy Harvey promotes conservation with All-Release Fishing Tournaments

In his mission to inspire scientific research and education while encouraging conservation and best management practices for sustainable marine environments, Dr. Guy Harvey continues to work closely with fishing tournament organizers to support and effect long lasting cultural changes.

As a result, creators of the upcoming Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge (USC) Tournament and Festival and organizers of the World¹s Richest Tarpon Tournament (WRTT) have announced plans to strengthen and share their commitment to conservation by cross-promoting their common messages. The Ultimate Shark Challenge Tournament and Festival takes place in Punta Gorda¹s downtown waterfront at Laishley Park May 4th ­ 6th followed by the World¹s Richest Tarpon Tournament in Boca Grande May 17th and 18th and the Downtown Tarpon Festival May 19th and 20th.

Both all-release tournaments feature exciting and innovative high-stakes competitions that also place an emphasis on best practices when it comes to the post-release welfare of their respective target species‹sharks and tarpon.

The main attractions at both events are the fishing tournaments, but each will also host festivals that are free to the public and offer family-friendly fun, excitement, entertainment and education.

While their marquis species are indeed very different, event organizers are quick to point out that, "Sharks and tarpon have been coexisting here for millions of years and that their symbiotic relationship is a matter of mutual benefit to a healthy marine and coastal environment.  In many ways, that relationship is a great metaphor for why we¹re collaborating with our events."

 "Our All-Release, No-Weigh, No-Kill tournaments are an alternative whose time has come," said Lew Hastings, executive director of the Boca Grande Area Chamber of Commerce and Tournament Director of WRTT. "Bringing families together in sport and education strengthens not only our estuaries and fisheries, but enriches our community as a whole."

USC Creators, Sean & Brooks Paxton add that, "We're extremely fortunate to have this uniquely diverse environmental playground right here in our backyard. The area offers so many choices for not only boaters and recreational anglers, but also anyone interested in an endless list of eco and adventure-based activities on land and sea."

The USC tournament‹created as a model for catch and release only shark tournament formats‹drew some 3,000 competitors and spectators last year and paid out over $15,000 in cash and prizes. This year¹s event will feature an outdoor showing of "This Is Your Ocean: Sharks", a documentary created by Dr. Harvey, fellow marine artist Wyland and shark dive operator Jim Abernethy, about sharks in the Bahamas.

"We applaud the tournament founders and directors for their increased commitment to promote the catch and release of sharks and tarpon in this summer¹s tournaments," said Dr. Harvey. "Our goal is to minimize shark and tarpon mortalities and maximize educational outreach about conservation."

Following an extremely successful launch of Guy Harvey's new Armed Forces Collection, a portion of the proceeds from this year¹s USC will benefit charitable organizations dedicated to supporting America¹s military and their families. There will also be two teams of veterans fishing in this event.

Dr. Harvey, founder of the Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University and the internationally regarded Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF), in recent years has joined the growing ranks of individuals and organizations calling for strict regulations to ban the commercial fishing of sharks in the quest to supply the world¹s insatiable taste for shark fin soup, an expensive delicacy.

Scientists with the International Union for Conservation of Nature have estimated that 30 percent of shark and ray species around the world are threatened or near threatened with extinction.  The loss of these animals could cause irreversible damage to the ocean¹s ecosystem and result in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in the tourist trade.

Last July, Dr. Harvey, who holds a PhD in fisheries science and biology, helped lead an international effort spearheaded by the Bahamas National Trust to convince the Government of the Bahamas to prohibit all commercial shark fishing in its more than 240,000 square miles of territorial waters.

Sharkatag 2011 - Tope numbers down - no sign of cuckoo, blonde or spotted rays.

Press Release 2011 www.ssacn.org

Are Scottish tope shark stocks in decline and will we ever see any rays again?

These are two of the questions facing sea anglers and Scottish fisheries managers following last weeks Sharkatag, as, for the third year in a row, the numbers of tope caught declined and no rays, other than thornbacks, were caught.

Sharkatag, held annually in South West Scotland, is the premier shark tagging event run by the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme (SSTP - www.tagsharks.com) . Last weekend, it once again received terrific support with anglers coming from all over the UK and fishing from over 50 boats and over 20 kayaks. As ususal, whilst there were many tagging stalwarts at the Event, a good number of newcomers to the sport and Sharkatag were also welcomed.

According to Willie Kennedy of the Events Organising Team :

"On Friday expectation was high, the weather was reasonable, the tides were right but in terms of the number of fish caught, it was quite disappointing; Saturday was equally difficult with the boats fishing off Ardwell having the most success, sadly the strong southerlies on Sunday made the day a washout - the first blown off day in the history of Sharkatag !

But whatever the conditions, it doesn't seem to dampen the spirits as feedback from one of this year's newcomers, Alasdair Fyfe, shows :

"We had a fantastic time at Sharkatag 3, it was truly a remarkable time. I have to say a big thank you to everyone for all their help and advice during the 3 day event. Weather was not too brilliant but the atmosphere made up for the conditions. We are all looking forward to getting back out next year. Just cant wait. Thanks to you all."

Following an initial analysis of the data, Ian Burrett, the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network's (SSACN - www.ssacn.org) Project Director highlighted a major concern :

"Evidence from this and previous years Sharkatags seems to confirm the anecdotal evidence that tope numbers are continuing to fall on an annual basis. We cannot be sure whether this is down to overfishing on their wintering grounds or a change in their Northern migration route due to some factor or another.

"Equally concerning is the data shows thornback ray stocks seem to be improving slightly, but not one cuckoo, blonde or spotted ray has been caught. Twenty years ago these species were abundant in the region - we need more research to find out why these fish are disappearing, but of course, funding is a major problem."

In a recent press release by Cabinet Secretary Lochhead said :

"Protecting vulnerable marine species is crucially important. Some shark, skate and ray populations are critically endangered and already protected from commercial fishing. However, these species need additional protection and so Scotland intends to introduce a new protection order to help stock recovery."

However, thanks to all the volunteers who have put so much effort into tagging over the last 20 years or so, the findings of the Radford economic study and a substantial educational programme, the SSTP has been able to show that the recreational 'shark' fishery contributes around £60 million/yr to the Scottish economy and that anglers can fish for those species without impacting stocks.

Consequently, recreational sea anglers will be able to continue to fish for the various species on a 'catch and release basis'.

White Shark Video - Warning Graphic

With less than 4000 white sharks estimated to be left on the planet, video of this 12-14 foot animal struggling for life with no hope for anything but a sharp knife is...heart wrenching.

White sharks in Mexico are under siege, making sites like Isla Guadalupe rare safe areas in the life cycle of these magnificent animals. This shark was taken in February of 2010:

Video: Pete Thorman catch and release of 26 great white sharks

Hat Tip: The Dorsal Fin Blog.

Finder of cool shark content, content delivery without the hype:

Mike Westhoff NY Jets - Catch and Release Shark Fishing

"If I don't catch 'em, so what? It's a frickin' shark," he says. "I throw 'em back so they can go on with their lives."

Admittedly a bit gruff for a catch and release media quote but what do you expect from the ever crusty Mike Westhoff aka NY Jets Special Teams Coordinator?

This week writer Kevin Armstrong of the NY Daily News covered Westhoff on one of his recent shark fishing trips.

As an unlikely ambassador for catch and release shark fishing Westhoffs final quote sealed the deal, not all shark fishermen have an adversarial relationship with sharks, and some even care about the resource and the future of these magnificent critters:

"How beautiful are they?" he says, looking at a photo. "I could never kill one."

New Jersey Shark Conservation Window

New Jersey has a political shark mess on it's hands, and an open window for shark conservation groups who are looking for a way to close shark tournaments in the region.

We covered this unlikely turn of events last month.

Shark fishing interests in New Jersey are applying pressure to government agencies to sign bills into law enacting new compliance standards for shark fisheries off the New Jersey coastlines.

If these bills are not signed, the entire 2010 shark fishery will be put on hold, a win for conservation.

What is not happening at this time are any efforts by shark conservation folks (large coordinated and vocal groups) to stall these unsigned bills or even demand status reviews that might slow the signing process down.

A rare window of shark conservation opportunity, and the clock is running.

Any shark conservation takers out there?

Rare Conservation Window - NJ Shark Fishery

Sometimes government can act on the behalf of sharks without even knowing. Just such a limited window of opportunity is happening now in NJ where unsigned bills allowing new fishing regulations for sharks might prohibit the entire 2010 sport caught shark fishing season.

A successful and savvy conservation lead campaign would have a remarkable effect at this time:

New Jersey fishermen could see a shutdown of the summer shark fishery - and the suspension of big money shark fishing tournaments because a two year old revision of the state's marine fishing regulations was not approved before former governor Jon Corzine left office, industry advocates say.

Now they are afraid the regulations could be delayed again by Gov. Christie's declaration of a 90-day moratorium on new regulations and rulemaking.

"Because of Governor Corzine's failure to act on the package, New Jersey is facing a potentially damaging shutdown of our shark fishery," the Recreational Fishing Alliance says in a letter sent today to the governor's office.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is scheduled to meet in Alexandria, Virginia, from February 1-4, and during those meetings New Jersey is expected to be voted out of compliance on our shark regulations, which will begin the process of shutting down our shark fishery.

Complete Story

Australia's "Shark Stone Age"

After months of public pressure authorities in Australia have decided to leave shark nets in place citing safety concerns yet again.

Shark nets and drum lines kill sharks indiscriminately along the Gold Coast and there are viable and alternate solutions:

Shark nets along the Gold Coast will not be removed, despite yet another young whale being caught in a net off Burleigh Heads on Tuesday - the fifth so far this migration season.

It took just an hour to free the seven-metre juvenile, which shark control program manager Tony Ham said was probably one of last year's calves.

"This animal was calm and quiet, even though it was windy and conditions were difficult, so that helped the release," he said.

"Happily the mother was there to keep an eye on the young whale, and that usually gives them an opportunity to calm down... so that's usually a good thing for us."Mr Ham said despite the number of young whales being tangled up this season, the shark nets will not be removed.

In fact the damaged net off Burleigh will be replaced before the end of the day.

Mr Ham denied the shark nets are being maintained simply because of political pressure and said their value in stopping shark attacks is well documented.

"The program has been in place since 1962 and in that time we've had one fatal attack on a protected beach, at North Stradbroke island in 2006," he said."There were a number of attacks prior to the program going in - some of those were pretty horrific and fatal.

"We believe the program does work."It does catch sharks and it does catch dangerous sharks (so) to remove the nets even for the whale migration season is not an option."Mr Ham said the argument that not many people swam in the surf during the migration season was simply wrong.

"We have people bathing on Gold Coast beaches year round," he said.

"People come to Queensland for the very reason that we have safe swimming beaches.
"He said it was "unacceptable" to remove the safety equipment, particularly with school holidays coming up.

Complete Story

Altering tourney to no-kill sure to kill off shark event

This morning an Op Ed appeared in the FT.Myers News-Press about a recent pressured decision to change a local sport kill shark tournament to a catch and release event. Here was the authors final summation:

So chalk this one up to the anti-fishing animal rights activists and fraidycat tourism boosters. It's not a victory for conservation. It's a loss for sport fishing.

We would like to refute this summation, as the author misses some big points. The folks who did the pressuring missed some big points as well, media follow up.

It is one thing to get a tournament to go catch and release but you have to explain your position to your region with the media. Failure to do this allows Op Eds like this one to grab the conversation and misdirect the intent of the change. Fair warning.

This mornings Op Ed misses the point that shark tournaments are now going "shark free" all over the USA and beyond with some creative and regional efforts. For example "catch, tag and release" events are growing in popularity in Montauk while some tournaments will soon feature "golden tags" on sharks worth $10,000 each. Catching the largest shark is always a game of chance. Typically these are the regions breeding aged sharks and more often filled with pups destroying future generations.

The desire to switch to catch and release is not a "shark hugger" phenomenon it's an evolution. From the first days of the Marlin Movement to today's no sport take was a journey that at first, a few brave fishermen and like minded conservationists brought about to save fish stocks.

Marlin Tournaments are big money draws and regional boosters. Sharks can be too.

Moving away from one tourism and fishing paradigm to another does not mean a loss...as we have seen with the Marlin folks in fact, it means a win.