Slaughtered Hammerhead left on Jupiter, FL Dock

[100days-a-year]

I joined in 2001,I've dove at meetups before with some SBers.I don't much with people I don't know well now after watching to many near-misses and having to pull a few people out of the water.

My point on release mortality is based on seeing the condition an animal is in after a long fight.Big billfish,tarpon and tuna get gobbled by sharks on occasion and even if not immediately eaten are in a weakened state for a while.Sharks have much less predation but I have seen it personally and know of smaller sharks being used for bait.I am not totally against it but want better data and want info available to fishermen.I'd rather see a fish eaten than sent back to die or hung up to spoil.At some point you have to ask yourself given the volume of fishing done just exactly how much mortaility you are comfortable with.
Supposed "eco divers"must also ask themselves if the additional stress on the ecosystem via waste,hydrocarbons,runoff etc...is any less a threat than the fisherman.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

What gets me about this is how sick of a human being it takes to do something like that. I'd be worried about my kids anywhere in the vicinity of such a sick basturd. That's someone who has no regard for anyone. What if a group of kids had come in and seen that? And if alcohol led to that, I'd say the guy has a drinking problem and asking the cops to keep an eye on him anytime he's behind the wheel would be doing a public service.

Pretty extreme.. for some guy throwing a fish head on a dock.....Doncha think?

 

[danvolker]

Pretty extreme.. for some guy throwing a fish head on a dock.....Doncha think?

Kind of symbolic like the horse head in the bed scene that became famous with the God Father movie.... Depending on how much the symbolism effects Randy J or others, this Fish head would be anything from just garbage to a serious physical threat.

I think the plus side may be that the commercial fishing guys as a group, may see that this shark issue may complicate their lives in ways they won't want it to....and that the shark head action may actually move them in the opposite direction of the guy that did it.... I know quite a few Sport Fish guys, and they are pissed about this.

 

[sailingk8]

What a tragedy. Never having seen one in the wild, and came so close to seeing this one last week, just so said.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Kind of symbolic like the horse head in the bed scene that became famous with the God Father movie.... Depending on how much the symbolism effects Randy J or others, this Fish head would be anything from just garbage to a serious physical threat.

I think the plus side may be that the commercial fishing guys as a group, may see that this shark issue may complicate their lives in ways they won't want it to....and that the shark head action may actually move them in the opposite direction of the guy that did it.... I know quite a few Sport Fish guys, and they are pissed about this.

OMG what if a group of children were to see a fish head...Just imagine the horror...

[video=youtube_share;JKDtUzRIG6I]http://youtu.be/JKDtUzRIG6I[/video]

 

[Arubandi07]

I joined in 2001,I've dove at meetups before with some SBers.I don't much with people I don't know well now after watching to many near-misses and having to pull a few people out of the water.

My point on release mortality is based on seeing the condition an animal is in after a long fight.Big billfish,tarpon and tuna get gobbled by sharks on occasion and even if not immediately eaten are in a weakened state for a while.Sharks have much less predation but I have seen it personally and know of smaller sharks being used for bait.I am not totally against it but want better data and want info available to fishermen.I'd rather see a fish eaten than sent back to die or hung up to spoil.At some point you have to ask yourself given the volume of fishing done just exactly how much mortaility you are comfortable with.
Supposed "eco divers"must also ask themselves if the additional stress on the ecosystem via waste,hydrocarbons,runoff etc...is any less a threat than the fisherman.

Aside from the likely negative impact you're mentioning, to me 'Catch and release' is really nothing more than turning an animal into a toy ... That's about it, ...unless someone manages to convince me otherwise ...

 

[danvolker]

Aside from the likely negative impact you're mentioning, to me 'Catch and release' is really nothing more than turning an animal into a toy ... That's about it, ...unless someone manages to convince me otherwise ...

Ok, I don't think I am following the issue....From my perspective, the "recreational fisherman" and Sport Fish market, are both forms of recreation--and in this recreation, the hunt or the chase, is a bigger part of the equation by far than the killing and taking of a fish.....For the health of our fisheries, now at a fraction of the size they would have been at in the 30's and 40's, it would seem to be a "good thing" to me, that fisherman would be willing to catch a fish using heavier gear, to limit the length of the fight, and to improve the probability of the fish surviving to be "enjoyed many more times like this.....Afterall, this sport of Fishing is closer to what you guys do than it is to what divers do, so I would have thought you would have seen this as a better development--as well as leaving more fish stock for commercial take. If 80% of the recreational catch of key species were released and to survive , it would seem to be very positive ....
So where am I getting your side incorrectly?

 

[boulderjohn]

The Bahamas is one of the top destinations to snorkel and/or dive with sharks, claiming the name “Shark Diving Capital of the World.”1 Sharks rank high on the majority of scuba divers’ must-see lists, and many divers would be willing to pay more to see a shark in the wild.2
With 92 percent of The Bahamas Dive Association members offering some form of shark dive activity, sharks have become the main attraction in The Bahamas.3 Over the past 20 years, shark related tourism has contributed more than US$800 million dollars to the Bahamian economy.4 A single reef shark is estimated to be worth US$250,000 over its lifetime for tourism if kept alive on the reef. If it is fished, the same shark generates a one-time value of US$50-60.5 Sharks are clearly worth more alive than dead, demonstrating the need to protect this valuable resource.

I dived the Bahamas for the first time this past fall. I did a week on Andros, followed by a few days on Abaco. The fact that I did not see any sharks on Abaco was not at all surprising, since all my diving was in a cave. However, I was really surprised that I never saw a single shark the entire week I was on Andros. I guess I should have researched a bit better, but I was certainly looking forward to diving with sharks, and I was certainly disappointed that I did not see any. I did not go on any special shark dives where I assume some sort of baiting is done to attract them, nor was anything like that offered where I was. What I saw primarily was dead coral and some lion fish. As a result of that trip, I am certainly interested in returning to the Bahamas to do more cave diving, but I have no interest in going back there for any other diving.

 

[mntlblok]

I now see why they call it the "great" hammerhead. Unbelievably large critter. . .

 

[danvolker]

I dived the Bahamas for the first time this past fall. I did a week on Andros, followed by a few days on Abaco. The fact that I did not see any sharks on Abaco was not at all surprising, since all my diving was in a cave. However, I was really surprised that I never saw a single shark the entire week I was on Andros. I guess I should have researched a bit better, but I was certainly looking forward to diving with sharks, and I was certainly disappointed that I did not see any. I did not go on any special shark dives where I assume some sort of baiting is done to attract them, nor was anything like that offered where I was. What I saw primarily was dead coral and some lion fish. As a result of that trip, I am certainly interested in returning to the Bahamas to do more cave diving, but I have no interest in going back there for any other diving.

John, as you know my thing is pushing Palm Beach, so I have no interest in getting divers interested in diving the Bahamas....On the other hand, I feel it necessary to explain that each Island can be very different....I did quite a bit of diving off of West End, and this was a very lush place, with a lot of marine life and corals. Nothing like what you describe....Just goes to show how important the actual dive site itself is, over just a destination name or an Island name.