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| The HSUS |
Shark hunts are one of the many
threats to thresher sharks. |
By Andrea Cimino
Called the "crown jewel" of U.S. shark hunting tournaments because of the prizes awarded, the Star Island Shark Tournament attracted a reported 250 participating boats, more than 2,000 spectators—and demonstrators—to Montauk, N.Y., a fishing community on the eastern tip of Long Island July 13-14.
While organizers handed out more than $700,000 in prizes, members of the East Hampton Group for Wildlife and The Humane Society of the United States co-sponsored a demonstration near the entrance to the tournament. As numerous motorists honked their horns and signaled thumbs up, shark advocates held signs and handed out Protect Sharks campaign leaflets, pins and magnets to people driving, biking and walking by.
The demonstration, combined with an advertisement in the East Hampton Star and a banner reading "End Cruel Shark Tournaments Now" that was flown overhead during both days of the shark tournament, attracted the attention of The New York Times, Newsday, and other media outlets.
The humane messages brought to the contest prompted new discussion about shark conservation in a community that is known for viewing trophy fishing as vital to the local economy.
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Warning: Contains graphic content. |
No Science in Cruelty
The tournament organizers reacted to the animal welfare message by asserting that tournaments support crucial science and that the shark meat is donated to local churches for distribution to the needy.
Lisa Natanson, a biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who attended the shark tournament, told Long Island's Newsday that, though data about migration, life span and birth rates can be obtained from sharks killed in the tournament, such information is available from other sources: "These tournaments can't be justified for science....They are sport-fishing."
And the Long Island Council of Churches—which was on the receiving end of excess shark meat from the tournament, according to organizers—might want to rethink the value of such a handout. The Environmental Protection Agency encourages children and pregnant and nursing women to use care when consuming shark because of the risk that larger fish can contain unacceptable levels of mercury.
Some Recognizing Sharks' Struggle for Survival
The members of East Hampton Group for Wildlife that attended the weigh-in of the sharks on July 13 said many of the sharks were small; a number failed to clear the 200-pound threshold for entering the competition.
Why should size matter? The absence of older, larger sharks could be another indication that the population is suffering from over-fishing by commercial and recreational interests.
The Shark Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), an international scientific organization, has raised the level of concern for thresher and mako sharks to "vulnerable," which is defined as "threatened with global extinction."
The IUCN also found that blue sharks had declined 50-70 percent in the North Atlantic. Although shark tournaments are responsible for fewer than 5 percent of all blue sharks killed in the northwest Atlantic, they substantially contribute to the problems facing the species. When a species is struggling to survive, any additional and preventable mortality does damage.
Though tournament organizers stuck to their refrain about the importance of their event for science and education, it was clear that many people are beginning to change their attitudes about sharks, recognizing the ancient species' struggle for survival.
Frank Mundus, a Long Island fisherman who claims to be the basis for the shark hunter Quint in Peter Benchley's "Jaws," told Reuters that "20 years ago they would have brought in 100 sharks with people shouting 'kill them all,' but now we are seeing some turnaround."
What You Can Do
If you missed the demonstration at the Star Island Shark Tournament, there will be at least one more shark tournament on Long Island later in the summer. Contact the East Hampton Group for Wildlife if you would like information on attending a demonstration.
Andrea Cimino is a campaign coordinator in the Wildlife and Habitat Protection section of The HSUS.
