750 pound Mako gaffed and killed

[ONESPEED]

I am a hunter just like you but I would prefer that the fish to be swimming in the gulfstream right now as opposed to sitting in someone's freezer. It's as simple as that...

I'm afraid it doesn't work that way, what is it you hunt and exactly what are your catches doing these days?

 

[Scott L]

I'm afraid it doesn't work that way, what is it you hunt and exactly what are your catches doing these days?

Our fellow spearfisherman object to the killing by at least a 5 to 1 margin. You are one of my favorite posters so I am not going to argue with you. I was just sad to see it sitting on the dock. That is my privilege...

750lb. Mako free gaffed, ft. laud. - SFC Fishing Forums

750LB Mako FT Lauderdale free gaffed - Sport Fishing Forums

 

[ONESPEED]

Our fellow spearfisherman object to the killing by at least a 5 to 1 margin. You are one of my favorite posters so I am not going to argue with you. I was just sad to see it sitting on the dock. That is my privilege...

Yes it is your privelege, and we can certainly agree to disagree, but I feel the focus should be shifted to the real problem of indiscriminate commercial fishing rather than a clearly isolated incident. The real problem doesn't video their catch and call the evening news to air it but it's happening right now, while we're worried about a bunch of googans who probably had no clue they were breaking the law, if in fact they even were.

Nothing will bring that shark back, but what are we going to do, put our time and efforts into campaigning against the unbelievably rare occurence of free gaffing or get off of our asses and stop the longliners who are doing more damage than can possibly be imagined?

 

[The Surly Mermaid]

Just curious... anyone out here know why the gaffing law was created to begin with? I get the fact that apparently if it wasn't hooked it was illegal, but would the shark be any less "dead".

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I do not see much relevance in much of DA's post about civic duty either...

I learned a long time ago in OCS that if you plan to lead, you have to be willing to own a problem and deal with it even if you did not create it. Simply put, if you see it, you own it. The relevance is that we can all choose to either ignore a problem and maybe bitch about it or lament the disaster after it happens, or we can each choose to own it and do something about it.

Its like all other things, we wait to react until its too late to fix the problem. This may never be a problem but I doubt it. I know 15 years ago sharks were a dime a dozen, I have not seen one in my last 70 dives. I think they should have a slot limit on them, small ones and large ones go back.

Kevin is absolutely correct. If we don't each decide to own the problem and do whatever we can individually to try to solve it or prevent it from getting worse, it will and eventually it will be too late to turn it around at all.

Commercial fisherman indiscriminately killing anything that crosses their path will be the ones on the wrong side of history, a bunch of guys who caught a big mako, fed their family and friends, and will probably never again catch a mako are hardly the problem. All you alarmists need to shift your focus to the real problem rather than myopically attacking an activity you personally don't like. What did you all eat for dinner tonight, and where did it come from? Just a little "food for thought"........

I grew up on a ranch, I know exactly where my food comes from and I started hunting at about the age of 8 and I still enjoy it. Still, there are things I no longer hunt as there is simply no way to justify it. My rights stop where someone else's rights begin and I firmly believe that I can and should make choices and decisions that serve the public interest, not just my own. I like to think that more of us can make the same choice whether it be how we vote, something like choosing not to support shark fishing or even choosing to be environmentally considerate in how we dive.

I agree with you that by-catch of sharks in the nets or on the long lines of commercial fishermen far exceeds the numbers taken by sport fisherman. But saying that commercial fishing is worse so it makes sport fishing ok is a bit like saying that shooting the occasional neighbor kid for sport is just fine as far more kids get killed in car accidents. The example is a bit extreme but the logic is exactly the same. Each large shark not caught by a sport fisherman would be one more still in the breeding population, so it's hard to justify taking any when the population as a whole is threatened.

I can't control what you or anyone else does, but if I can make them at least stop and think about it, I'm happy.

 

[ONESPEED]

Just curious... anyone out here know why the gaffing law was created to begin with? I get the fact that apparently if it wasn't hooked it was illegal, but would the shark be any less "dead".

I'll be honest with you, I didn't even know it was illegal until this incident and I have the feeling these guys did not either. While I know ignorance of the law is no excuse, one can only conclude from the fact they gave the video up to local news agencies they were clueless as to having done anything wrong. FWIW Florida fishing regulations are many and nobody can possibly know them all, I and many others have called FWC w/ questions regarding fishing regulations they couldn't even answer. Most responsible fisherman know the regulations of their intended catch but there is no way in hell these guys set out to free gaff a mako shark.

 

[deepstops]

First, we need to look at what these buttwipes were fishing for in the first place. Swordfish....

Swordfish stocks are presently only 20% of what they were 40 years ago. (that's an 80% population reduction for those not savvy with numbers) Commercial sword boat catches have been tightly monitored for the same length of time and the average fish caught over those 40 years has dropped from 260 lbs. to 65 lbs.

Swordfish aren't large enough to breed until they reach about 90 lbs. and only the females go over 200 lbs. Every night, there's 75,000 miles of longlines out there indiscriminately catching everything that bites but swordfish are the target.

DOES ANYONE SEE A PROBLEM WITH THIS FISHERY???

Besides that fact these chumps were out there targeting the most over-fished billfish on the planet, they came across the shark and knew they wouldn't be catching any swordfish that day and (direct quote from the video) stated, "well, something was going to die".

For what it's worth, you need a permit to fish for HMS (highly migratory species) like swordfish, tuna, and marlin. And oh yeah, sharks are considered HMS as well.

So, first question, did they have the proper federal HMS permit for their targeted catch?
Second, free-gaffing the shark was illegal.

I'm betting these guys broke enough laws to lose that nice sportfish they were fishing from.

 

[ONESPEED]

But saying that commercial fishing is worse so it makes sport fishing ok is a bit like saying that shooting the occasional neighbor kid for sport is just fine as far more kids get killed in car accidents.

Congratulations, in my years on Scubaboard that is by far the dumbest sentence I have seen posted to date, and that's saying something.

 

[NJ to FLA]

huhhhhhh

 

[Scott L]

Yes it is your privelege, and we can certainly agree to disagree, but I feel the focus should be shifted to the real problem of indiscriminate commercial fishing rather than a clearly isolated incident. The real problem doesn't video their catch and call the evening news to air it but it's happening right now, while we're worried about a bunch of googans who probably had no clue they were breaking the law, if in fact they even were.

Nothing will bring that shark back, but what are we going to do, put our time and efforts into campaigning against the unbelievably rare occurence of free gaffing or get off of our asses and stop the longliners who are doing more damage than can possibly be imagined?

I agree with all that. The focus at the moment though was the Mako shark just taken. By the way, an event does not have to violate the law in order for it to be a regrettable decision. Frank Mundus the ledgendary shark fisherman of Montaulk, NY now terriably regrets the sharks he killed. I am not going to lose sleep over it all by any means. I just thought other people were entitled to their opionions. Signing off...