Deserving of some Major Credit - Stefanie Brendl

For the past three years Stefanie Brendl has been in the "eye of the hurricane" for sharks.

As a shark conservationist who began her voyage to save sharks having owned a shark tourism operation on Oahu, she's become the embodiment of determination, grit, and political conservation savvy.

Haven't heard of her yet? Watch this video:

Shark Declines - Visual Data

Recently the AFP news service posted an online tutorial on global shark declines and shark fining (click image).

Using available data from PEW Trusts they have produced a very easy to understand PSA that can be used in the fight to conserve sharks.

Too often shark conservationists with good intentions run with wild sound bytes that have little to no basis in hard facts.

One of our personal favorites:

" 70% of the worlds oxygen comes from the oceans, if we kill all the sharks we will not have any more oxygen to breathe"

The battle for the hearts and minds of the general public and of those in Asia often disregard the fact that the people shark conservationists target are savvy customers.

As 2011 dawns for the next round of shark conservation efforts let's stick to the facts and leave the hyperbole behind, as the facts are grim enough without the added and unnecessary doomsday scenarios thrown in for good measure.

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 Shark-Free Marinas 1500 Marina Push

From the Shark-Free Marinas website this week:

After quite a bit of work from some very capable and knowledgeable people the new Shark-Free Marinas brochures are now available.

They feature artwork generously provided by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and scientific contributions from many of our advisors.

Click on the image for a larger view of the artwork and message. You may also use the link provided to download a PDF version on the bottom.

As you read this these brochures are speeding their way around the USA destined for 1500 marinas around the country. If you would like to recieve a package of 10 brochures please write to staff@sharkfreemarinas.com and tell us where you plan to hand them out. We suggest going into your local marina, dive shop, tackle store or classroom to talk about the need to protect our sharks.

A very special thanks to all who were involved especially those who let us use their names, message and artwork.

Download PDF version here.

Shark-Free Marinas - Adding 13 Marinas

The Shark-Free Marinas Initiative has just added 13 more marinas this week - more good news for Florida sharks:

Loggerhead Club and Marinas, operated by Seven Kings Holdings group, have today made a corporate decision to join Shark-Free Marinas. This means that all 13 locations are now registered with SFMI.

There will shortly be an official press release regarding this decision but we would like to extend a peremptory congratulations for being the first corporately owned chain of marinas to join SFMI.

It's not surprising that Loggerhead signed on, after all they already participate in the Florida Clean Marinas program and regularly participate in environmental programs concerning Floridas waterways.

You can see the list of their marinas in our USA business listing here.

Shark Image of the Week

Off the coast of Massachusetts it's white shark tagging season and apparently the "hunting" is good.

“It’s a team effort. We’re all equally important — not one guy better than the other,’’ said Chaprales, 58, of Marstons Mills, who was a commercial fisherman for 40 years off Cape Cod and claims a perfect record tagging fish with his harpoon. “Greg’s the biologist, my son drives the boat, I do the tagging, and George does the flying.’’

And with more and more great whites appearing off the Cape, these three men from different walks of life have the unique opportunity to unmask one the region’s most mystifying species.

“This has nothing to do with the public, nothing to do with seals; it really has to do with advancing science,’’ said Skomal, 48, a state biologist from Marion. “There’s nobody else along the East Coast of the United States who has the opportunity to do this.’’

Kudos to the entire shark team, complete story here.

Indian River commissioners reject regulation of shark fishing from shore

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A county proposal to regulate shark fishing from shore may be dead in the water.

After two months of debate, the County Commission majority voted Tuesday to reject County Attorney Alan Polackwich’s draft ordinance without asking for a revision.

“(Am I) disappointed? I can’t understand it,” Carlton condominium manager Doug Distl said. “This is Indian River County. We’re known for recreation, retired citizens and good things.”

Distl, who had sought an ordinance to ban the chumming and baiting for sharks off swimming beaches, said he didn’t want the county to gain new recognition as a shark fishing destination.

He said he would focus now on getting the Vero Beach, Orchid and Indian River Shores councils to regulate shark fishing through municipal ordinances.

In a 3-2 vote, commissioners approved a motion by Vice Chairman Bob Solari for “no ordinance,” effectively rejecting Polackwich’s draft.

Complete Story.

Shark Free Marinas Fiji - 24 is a Good Number

Got an email from Mike in Fiji this week with more good news about shark conservation.

From the soft launch of the Shark Free Marina Initiative last year Mike (Da Shark) has shown how the concept works and it's broad appeal beyond US shores. Mostly due to his efforts the SFMI has grown to include a high percentage of local marinas in his region.

SFMI works with existing fisheries bases to educate and adjust behaviors of fishermen for the ultimate benefit of regional shark populations.

This week makes 24 marinas in Fiji who have joined the SFMI to ask local fishermen and sport fishermen not to bring dead sharks, or shark parts back to their marinas.

Adding to the list are:

Copra Shed Marina

Waitui Marina

The SFMI is an innovative shark conservation tool for use by anyone worldwide. The concept works and after a year of field testing has shown appeal not only in the USA but globally as well.

Regional shark conservation efforts start with initiatives that show metrics for success. SFMI endeavors to deliver lasting shark conservation and education, one marina at a time.

Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge - Impacts

Effective conservation change is often a battle of ideas. Changes to set-in-stone ways of doing business takes leadership.

One of the intended consequences of leadership is the transfer of new conservation ideas far and wide.

The Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge is over in Florida but the media effects now resonating on the East coast, home to the shark kill tournament model, is just beginning.

Here's to new beginnings.

(June 3, 2010) By Russell Drumm - Shark tournaments are an anachronism, critics say, at least the kind of kill contests inspired by the movie “Jaws” and by the exploits of Capt. Frank Mundus, Montauk’s own Monster Man, a fact he acknowledged with regret in retirement and worked hard to change.

Now, two self-proclaimed “shark huggers” from the East End have set out to inspire contest organizers here to abandon their old ways and adopt a “greener” catch-and-release approach to shark tournaments that seems to have gained a foothold in Florida.

Citing the differences between Southern and Northern fishing tournaments, local fishermen said this week that they had no problem with the catch-and-release concept, but questioned whether it was practical or economically feasible.

April Gornik and Rav Friedel, longtime environmental advocates from North Haven and Montauk, respectively, have joined with the Humane Society of the United States to introduce a model pioneered by Sean and Brooks Paxton, entertainers and conservationists known who call themselves “the shark brothers.”

The Paxtons are pushing a concept that involves a very fast chase boat, or boats, responding to the radio alert of “Shark on!” during a tournament. The boats speed to the location of a hook-up to videotape the action, including the successful tagging and release of the shark.

Sean Paxton was quoted as saying that the chase-boat-video approach was an effort to keep fishermen and spectators engaged by “taking the spectacle of dead sharks out of the sport and replacing it with a live video.”

On Tuesday, Ms. Gornik said the Paxtons helped host the Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge held off the west coast of Florida in April and May. She said they were working to replace the “strung-up shark money shot” with action videos.

The brothers have been working on a film about the late Frank Mundus, and following the success of the Florida tourney, they planned to visit Captain Mundus’s home port to share their ideas with the Star Island Yacht Club, the host of Montauk’s largest shark tournaments.

On Monday, Ms. Gornik echoed John Grandy, senior vice president of the Humane Society, who said in a telephone interview last week that the society’s more confrontational approach — banner-towing airplanes flying the society’s message over Montauk Harbor — was not getting the message across.

The Humane Society and Wendy Benchley, the widow of Peter Benchley, the author of “Jaws,” endorsed the Guy Harvey green tournament. Dr. Harvey is a trustee of the International Game Fish Association and founder of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, a conservation group that promotes catch-and-release fishing.

Ms. Gornik said it was too late to change tournament plans for this year, but that she and Mr. Friedel had donated thousands of Mustad brand circle hooks to the Montauk Marine Basin for its 40th annual shark tournament scheduled for June 25 and June 26.

The snell, or shank, of a circle hook is curved as the name implies, and therefore less likely to snag in the gut or throat of fish. Circle hooks are more likely to be set in the jaw, causing less damage to the animal to be released back into the wild.

“Our main aim is to reduce mortality, not to keep people from having fun or making money,” Ms. Gornik said. She added that the traditional shark tournament scene was a jarring contrast to efforts to reverse the dramatic decline in shark populations around the world. Hawaii recently became the first state to outlaw the sale of shark fins, most of which are sold in Asia for shark-fin soup.

“Can America please not stand for that? We’re over the ‘Jaws’ thing,” Ms. Gornik said.

“Without taking on fishing per se, this approach supports the notion that sharks are in trouble,” the Humane Society’s Mr. Grandy added.

Carl Darenberg Jr. said the tournaments held from the Montauk Marine Basin had been billed as “tag-and-release” for years. “It’s always based on that. There are more releases than catches, and the weights are high,” he said, meaning that the minimum size for the various species has been kept relatively high to prevent the taking of juvenile fish.

“I think down the road we will go to more of the release type of tournament. The trouble is finding room for observers.”

He was referring to the fact that Southern tournaments run entirely on a catch-and-release basis use trained observers to ride on every boat to certify that landings are done by the book. All observers are trained and certified by the International Game Fish Association. Mr. Darenberg said finding rooms for 100 or more observers in Montauk during the summer would be a challenge.

“I think circle hooks are a good idea. We should all be using them,” he said.

“It’s an economic thing,” said Jack Passie, former president of the Montauk Boatmen and Captains Association. “The Star Island tournament attracts a huge crowd in the middle of June when not many people are around. The bar and store business is phenomenal.”

“The people are attracted to the sharks that come in. In my own opinion, the few sharks that are brought in don’t make a big difference in the overall picture.”

“The thing that bothers me is the yahoo from the city who thinks he’s going to come out and win $500,000, catches the biggest fish he’s ever caught, brings it in, and it’s a 125-pound blue shark” that should not have been killed, Captain Passie said.

“It’s a different mentality around here,” said Michael Potts, captain of the Blue Fin IV charter boat in Montauk. Captain Potts has been taking anglers offshore to compete in shark tournaments for years. He agreed that observer participation in the catch-and-release scenario would be difficult for “six-pack” boats licensed to carry a maximum of six anglers.

“What if I have a six-person charter? Where would the observer go?”

“It’s a mindset more than anything,” Captain Potts said. “I’m not saying it won’t work, but things take time to catch on.” He said green tournaments would reduce the interest in a lot of charter boat customers because they would not have anything to take home.

“You catch a top-of-the-line mako, and you can’t take it home,” Captain Potts said. Such tournaments, he said, “are not going to be charter boat-driven. The economy is tough, and to get a lot of people to put up money with zero chance to take home fish to eat narrows the field.”

On the other hand, the veteran charter captain said he had participated in catch-and-release tournaments. “The people enjoyed it, participants enjoyed it, and we did, too. It was enjoyable not to have to attempt to kill anything, no gaffs, harpoons, guns, just pliers. I would do it,” Captain Potts said.

The Star Island Yacht Club hosts the largest shark tournaments in Montauk. The first is scheduled for June 18 and June 19. Rich Janis, the tournament organizer, said yesterday that changing the tournament format, although perhaps inevitable — “obviously it’s headed in that direction” — was a complex issue.

He said the demographic of the participants was different than at the Southern tournaments, meaning that contests lasting more than two days are precluded here.

“They come from all walks of life,” he said of those participating in the Montauk tournaments. “There’s the retired guy with a lot of money, but also the 8-to-5 blue-collar guy who either can’t get an extra day off work or who arranges his vacation around it.”

Mr. Janis said the video boat idea would be a challenge in the Star Island contest with 200 boats fishing over hundreds of square miles of ocean. But mostly, he said, the hoisting of dead sharks, although the tournaments’ draw, gave a false impression.

“Two hundred boats fish two days. That’s 400 boats fishing to bring in maybe 20 or 25 sharks. The makos and threshers are consumed,” he said, and the blue sharks, not high on the menu in most households, are nonetheless donated — cut, packaged, and frozen — to Long Island food pantries. “These groups lose sight of that,” he said.

Mr. Janis said Star Island had accepted Mr. Friedel’s donation of 5,000 circle hooks and that they would be made available to tournament participants.

Winners declared in Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge

The Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge wrapped up Sunday at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium with the presentation of a $10,000 grand prize check to team Pole Dancer.

The team's anglers - Wayne Nichols and Zac Gerzeny - won the Challenge by collecting the most points for the types and sizes of the sharks they caught and released Saturday and Sunday during the final round of the Challenge. (The first round took place April 30-May 2 from Burnt Store Marina in Charlotte Harbor.)

Gerzeny, who boosted his team's score by catching his first great hammerhead shark, said "This is my dream, ever since I can remember."

But the real winners in this all-release shark fishing tournament were the sharks, said the organizers, scientists, anglers and conservationists who came together to create a successful event. The Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge was designed to be a "next generation" model for shark fishing competitions that supported shark protection while still providing spectators and anglers a thrilling event.

"I love the idea of catch and release," said co-winner Nichols. "There's no sense in hanging up a dead shark if you don't have to. With Mote and Guy Harvey it's a winning combination all around."

Full press release here.

Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge - Media Coverage

Ongoing media coverage of the Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge which made history this week in Florida:

Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge - NBC News

Changing conservation paradigms are never easy. It takes out of the box thinking and those that are willing to lead - putting reputations, careers and personal relationships together to effect lasting conservation change.

The diverse group of thinkers and industry folks behind the Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge are members of a unique cadre of conservation game changers. The GHUSC went off without a hitch this weekend to acclaim both within the conservation world and with tournament fishermen up and down the East coast of the USA and beyond.

The goal? Change the way the sport fishing world considers sharks.

One of the reasons why the Shark Free Marinas have been full supporters of this new conservation paradigm along with partners at the Humane Society USA.

Tonight NBC News had full coverage of this event with reporter Kerry Sanders:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge - Grand Championship Finale

Five teams will soon cast their lines in the Grand Championship Finale of the Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge, an innovative shark tournament uniting sport fishing, science, business and humane interests as never before.

The event runs from May 21-23 at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway in Sarasota. Aquarium visitors onshore can enjoy educational talks along with video feeds from the heart of the action.

The Challenge is a catch-and-release only competition off the Southwest Florida coast in which fishermen compete by catching sharks and Mote scientists tag the sharks for conservation research purposes to learn more about the animals' travels in the wild.


The Challenge is designed to be a "next generation" model for shark fishing competitions, supporting shark protection while providing the excitement that spectators and anglers have come to expect.

Nine teams competed in a qualifying round out of Burnt Store Marina in Punta Gorda. Their catches included an 8-foot, 2-inch bull shark, which Mote scientists tagged with a satellite transmitter to monitor its movements in real time.

To attend the Grand Championship Finale, please RSVP to Hayley Rutger, Public Relations Specialist, at 941-374-0081 or hrutger@mote.org.

White Sharks and Advertising - Wowza

Over at the Southern Fried Science blog David has an ongoing discussion about the new Nicorette commercial featuring a white shark attacking a smoker.

Here's some of Davids analysis:

"Perhaps I am overreacting to what was clearly supposed to be a joke and not a documentary about shark behavior. However, as I’ve stated many times, shark conservation requires that people care about sharks. As people realize that sharks are ecologically important and threatened, sharks will be better protected. Perpetuating false stereotypes about sharks as mindless killing machines who exist only to attack people who go in (or near) the water detracts from this goal."

We covered a similar video a few weeks back on MTV Europe.

Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge - Research Tracking in Action

The Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge has revealed the science behind its new shark fishing tournament model with a tagged female and possibly gravid Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) reporting back to Mote Marine Labs this week.

"Bucky's Baby" is on a long distance swing outside the tournament area and providing real time data to waiting researchers who have launched an interactive website providing website viewers with:

- The option to subscribe to a daily project update by email (works great if you're interested in the day-by-day movements)

- Additional tournament info with links

- Specifics on Bucky's Baby and general information on bull sharks

- An option to "Adopt" Bucky's Baby to help fund the research

Shark conservation initiatives take many forms and are often lead by industry leaders willing to step out from traditional molds to create new conservation paradigms. The team behind the GHUSC are a unique group of thinkers and industry folks, from Mote Marine Labs, The Humane Society, to well known oceans advocate Guy Harvey who are trying to change the way we catch sharks, run tournaments, and ultimately treat the resource as a sustainable effort.

After three decades of protests and efforts to educate fishermen, shark kill tournaments are still the tournament of choice in the sport fishing industry. The GHUSC is one way forward to address sport caught shark take.

In tandem with other initiatives like the Shark Free Marinas these "out of the box ideas" to address shark conservation will effect real and lasting change. There are no silver bullets in the shark conservation world, just smart thinking, planning and execution.

Kudos to everyone involved.

Shark Tournaments - Change From Within

How do you effect conservation change?

That question is the million dollar or million shark question depending on which side of the conservation fence you are currently sitting.

Smart conservationists know that conservation change, real and long lasting change, does not come from direct action, protests, or petitions.

Conservation change comes from new ways of thinking, alliances with forward thinking individuals and groups, and effecting change from within.

That's why we support the Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge.

We know hard core shark folks will decry the "support" of any shark tournaments but the bottom line is this - until today no one had taken a leadership role combining shark research, shark conservation, and catch and release into a certified tournament model. A model that will soon become the accepted tournament model to replace the 300 or so catch and kill tournaments currently operating in the USA.

Think about it.

Shark tournaments will not stop because they are money making propositions. Asking anyone to stop making money is hard, demanding that they stop without a sustainable replacement is a fools errand.

To change the shark tournament world you will first have to come up with a tournament model that is so successful that everyone will want to copy it.

Kudos to the team from the Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge, and to Guy and his crew for supporting the evolution of shark catch and release tournaments in the USA.

Taking "marlin tournament model" into the world of ongoing shark research and conservation is the way you effect conservation change.

Cape Cod to Florida - Pretty Neat Trick

You have to love the marine sciences for one reason only - data, lovely, undisputed data.

So when we hear tell of a tagged white shark arriving in Florida's waters that's just a cause for celebration, and then some.

For the folks in Jacksonville it may be the cause for some concern, but fear not:

“We were very pleased to hear that this one had surfaced,” said Catherine Williams, spokeswoman for the Division of Marine Fisheries, which led the tagging project. “We’re expecting that the other four will surface any time between now and the spring, but, of course, there are no guarantees.”

Complete Story.

Chip Scarlett and Sharks - Visually Stunning

We are big fans of pro shark PSA's, especially ones that deliver strong and cohesive personal narratives.

Underwater photographer Chip Scarlett knows this art form well and has delivered one of the most engaging shark PSA's we have seen in a while. All that is needed now is a gentle push into the Internet and about 100,000 more viewers.

Kudos:

Sharks - Elegance in Back and White

RTSea Productions takes the planet on a journey this month. The end result is visually stunning emotionally guiding the viewer into the magnificent world of sharks.

Shot in the Bahamas at Tiger Beach, this is pro shark pro industry film making.

Kudos.

2009 - CNN INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE SHARK ENDS

As this decade closes CNN has a nice wrap up story on shark conservation and some of the highlights of the 2009 "International Year of the Shark."

We could not have summed up a year in shark conservation any better.

Kudos to all who participated with unique shark conservation efforts that effected real and lasting conservation changes.

Your passion, dedication, and conservation successes are what keep sharks from extinction.

Farewell to the "Decade of shark awareness" and hello to the "Decade of shark action."

CNN shark conservation wrap here.