Bill introduced to prohibit shark feeding in federal waters

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So all divers should lobby to continue the shark feeding activities.....WHY? because the "other side" has a bad "anti-shark" political agenda? In other words, the other side "hates sharks" so we should oppose anything they do? Is that your argument?
It's more than hating sharks. They are trying to bring back directed longlining and the shark fin trade. Personally, no I do not think we should shut down the shark tourism industry so that all the shark boats go back to sport fishing and take the few eyes on these shark populations off the water. But I don't care if you support the Safer Seas Act, as long as you call your senator to oppose the SHARKED Act.
 
It's more than hating sharks. They are trying to bring back directed longlining and the shark fin trade. Personally, no I do not think we should shut down the shark tourism industry so that all the shark boats go back to sport fishing and take the few eyes on these shark populations off the water. But I don't care if you support the Safer Seas Act, as long as you call your senator to oppose the SHARKED Act.
You make zero sense.
 
I have no issue with this proposal, though they should really ban feeding for any purpose (including fishing) too. If you want to legally fish for a shark, do it without chum. But I'll take 50%. The legality doesn't change anything for people fishing for sharks, so I wouldn't expect that activity to increase beyond its current rate, assuming they continue standard fish/game enforcement.

It's well past time to just make most/all shark species protected within our waters. There's no reason to treat them any different than marine mammals in that respect. If anything they've been depleted more than whales/seals were.
 
I have no issue with this proposal, though they should really ban feeding for any purpose (including fishing) too. If you want to legally fish for a shark, do it without chum. But I'll take 50%. The legality doesn't change anything for people fishing for sharks, so I wouldn't expect that activity to increase beyond its current rate, assuming they continue standard fish/game enforcement.

It's well past time to just make most/all shark species protected within our waters. There's no reason to treat them any different than marine mammals in that respect. If anything they've been depleted more than whales/seals were.
They're NOT depleted in our area - where the shark tourism is located..
 
They're NOT depleted in our area - where the shark tourism is located..
And out come the industry talking points. Sharks are absolutely are depleted in Florida, even if they have slightly recovered. The north Atlantic sandbar shark population, one of the two specifically targeted by this 'depredation' rhetoric, are assessed at over 60% depletion from their historic spawning biomass.
 
They're NOT depleted in our area - where the shark tourism is located..
I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. Aren't you against feeding based on your previous posts? Also, "shark tourism" and "shark dives" almost always entail chumming, baiting, feeding, or all of the above. None of which is necessary to see sharks, just perhaps to see specific species or huge numbers at once doing unnatural behaviors. Most divers who sign up for a "shark dive" expect to see 20+ sharks in a big frenzy or guaranteed big tiger sharks and things like that, none of which happens without bait and feeding. You can't support the practice of shark dives of this type and be against the use of bait, chum, or feeding.

Also, zero chance shark populations in any area anywhere in the world aren't WAY depleted from historical pre-industrialized fishing numbers. You can't make any judgement about population density when baited dives are being done like clockwork, drawing in sharks from a wide surrounding area since many species can roam vast areas of ocean. It's no surprise that there's always lots of sharks in areas where operators are feeding them daily. Stop that, and then see how how dense things seem. If there's a healthy shark population you should be able to consistently see them swimming around the reef and wouldn't need to bait them in or feed them.
 
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