Rosie O'Donnell the Shark murderer. And Mark the Shark charters

[merxlin]

Mike, one of the reasons
38 MILLION - 78 MILLION sharks were killed last year for their fins.
(38,000,000 - 78,000,000) that's in MILLIONS

are killed is because people either don't know about the damage we are doing to the oceans, or still think of sharks as that creature from "Jaws" or "worlds Bloodiest/Deadliest Beaches" on Shark Week, or both, so don't care that those animals are being killed. Operations like this that glorify the killings are propagating those feelings and making it harder to get people to give a damn about fining. It's desensitizing. So you are right- sports fishers are not doing the damage that commercial fishing does. But they do cause damage, and op's like this are certainly not part of the solution. Nor is your feeling that it's just a few sharks, so who cares.

 

[smellzlikefish]

According to Mark's own figure of 100,000 (that's in thousands) sharks, he has single-handedly taken 0.2% of the TOTAL yearly catch of sharks you cited, so shutting down his localized and concentrated operation would certainly be a great start. Had you bothered to read my post, recreational fishers account for 14% of the total world fish catch, so saying they don't account for any significant take is an inaccurate rationalization. I'm sorry I didn't bother enlarging my stats to size 32+ font, but that's just rude and doesn't make the point any clearer.

 

[giantfan]

First off let me say that I don't agree with Mark The Shark killing everything that bites his hook.... but that does not mean that we should stop the man from making a living when he is staying within the guidelines of the law. You must admit that his marketing tactic seems to be working very well and this thread right here is just giving him more exposure... so you’re really helping him more than hurting him.
I shark fish recreationally and have fished some kill tournaments myself. I don’t eat fish but do keep the edible species and make sure that every ounce of it goes to people that will enjoy it. In the tourneys that I have fished... if the boat that brings the sharks to the scales doesn’t want it... it is given to the local food bank and is consumed by people that otherwise would have nothing to eat.
I can tell you that I harvest one to two sharks a year and have no remorse at all. Am I hurting the species? I don’t think so but I could be wrong. The issue that I have with the killing of sharks is that they are not killed to be consumed, but only to have them hung on the scale back at the marina for bragging rights or as an advertisement for the charter fishing boat. Most sharks don’t have a urinary tract which is why they are not good for human consumption. Mako and Thresher sharks are two examples of sharks that are desirable for consumption and are usually the only two species that are allowed in our local tournaments. If other species of sharks are killed, by the time they make it back to the dock the urine has gone into the meat which leaves it tasting like ammonia. Now if these same sharks were gutted as soon as they were boated and treated with care they could very well be used to eaten.
The reason I say this is because some of you make it sound like all rec fishermen are just going out there and killing everything they can. In my observations that is not the case, at least not here in the NE... Yup, not from FL. Around here, at least in the circles that I run in, we are very concerned with the population and do more than most toward conservation by tagging, sending in catch reports, catch and release, freeing animals that are caught in commercial fishing gear, ECT.....
As far as this statement goes:

Great hammerheads aren't plentiful in Florida

I beg to differ.... have you ever been to Boca Grande during the tarpon run? There are hammerheads all over the place. Just sayin.

 

[Mike]

are killed is because people either don't know about the damage we are doing to the oceans, or still think of sharks as that creature from "Jaws" or "worlds Bloodiest/Deadliest Beaches" on Shark Week, or both, so don't care that those animals are being killed. Operations like this that glorify the killings are propagating those feelings and making it harder to get people to give a damn about fining.

Oh what crap that is. You either are against sharks or you aren't. Now Mark the Shark has such magic world wide powers of propaganda that he is influencing popular opinions world wide with his website? If that's the case then the argument is that PETA with it's huge proven propaganda machine would easily negate little Mark the Shark and therefore everyone should have been influenced by now and had their minds changed. So which is it? You can't have it both ways.

You guys love to pick out something to make your argument but you don't apply the same logic to the entire subject. Get over it. There are people who will fish and there are people who won't.

Sport fishing's influence on the population is miniscule to the point of being non-exisistant.

Here is your fight - commercial fishing by catch and shark fining.

 

[Mike]

Had you bothered to read my post, recreational fishers account for 14% of the total world fish catch, so saying they don't account for any significant take is an inaccurate rationalization. I'm sorry I didn't bother enlarging my stats to size 32+ font, but that's just rude and doesn't make the point any clearer.

I ignored it because it's ridiculous. 14%????? If you're a reasonably intelligent person you don't have to ponder the imposibility of that number for long to realize it's not even in the realm of reality. Come up with something in the neighborhood under .001% and we can talk.

Commercial Fisherman's catch --

and

recreation fishing catch

Tools of the recreation fisher

Tools of the commercial fisherman

One more time -


Commercial Fisherman's catch --

recreation fishing catch

 

[Insta-Gator]

+1 for Catch and Release

+1 for Eat What You Kill

Otherwise, leave the poor beasts alone.

I can't count the number of deer and turkey I've seen in the woods and let walk. Why not? They're beautiful animals and unless I'm hunting for food, I don't need to bother them. People who 'trophy hunt/fish' should be ashamed. Buy a camera!!!

Ok, that's my 2 psi.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Rosie is a hippocrit(sic), another you do I dont fake greenie

 

[merxlin]

Mike, you just don't get it. You are right, sport fishers do not amount to a great percentage of the sharks taken. But unless people's attitudes change about the killing of sharks, regardless of the means, the commercial fishing will be tougher to stop. If anything, I would think that a true sportsman like yourself would be very moved to stop the commercial slaughter of these fish so that there would be more of them for you to catch. But if we all take the attitude that it is just someone else's problem, soon there will be no problem to fix- the fish will be gone. If you read my posts I have said I have no issue with fishing, but do have a problem with how this man has decided to market his operation, and the message it sends.

And let me ask you: which would have a bigger impact on you: A PETA billboard, or the fishing operation you choose for your trip discussing their methods, that they are catch and release, and actually discussing the plight of the animals you are about to "hunt"? So I disagree that PETA can easily counteract the damage an operation like this can do.

 

[Mike]

commercial fishing will be tougher to stop.

Commercial fishing does not need to be stopped. Things need to be controlled. Florida Fish and Game are doing just that, and Mark the Shark is following the rules they set up. If you don't like the rules then work on changing them.

As far as I'm concerned they can even keep fining sharks. However, there needs to be some controls in place for the numbers allowed. Decimating the shark population by 38-78 million a year is the problem. Not Mark catching a few hundred sharks a year. Mark's applying a high dollar amount to the resource, each shark he catches is costing the consumer around $1000, this alone controls the resource as it limits the consumers who can afford it. Shark finning is reducing the cost to $3-$4 a shark. Mark is properly managing the resource.

And yes, I did say I'd even be fine with some fining going on. Sure it appears to be a waste, only using the fins and dumping the body over board, but something in the ocean is eating that shark body, it's not going to waste, it's entering back into the eco food system of the ocean. But let's regulate shark finning world wide and get it down to a level that the manages the resource wisely. Whatever that number is, maybe it's 1 million a year, or 10 million, or 100K.

That's what we are supposed to be doing here, is managing our resources.

 

[giantfan]

Commercial fishing is a real thorn in my side as Rec fishermen... but let me ask you about all the people that make a living from this? Are they just supposed stop being fishermen one day and become rocket scientists?

Believe me, I am not defending the way they go about it, but this is how they were taught by their fathers and grandfathers that have been doing it for hundreds of year, and they really don’t know any other way. It’s a very tough life to be a fishermen and these guys work very hard and put their life at risk every day.