The HSUS

Shark hunts target imperiled shark species such as the blue.

It happens every year: The weather warms and people flock to beaches, entering the waters that are home that renowned predator, the shark. And when sharks and humans interact, the encounters often turn deadly—for the sharks, that is.

Shark populations around the world are in jeopardy. According to the latest reports, at least one fifth of all shark and ray species are threatened with extinction, primarily because of overfishing.

“For most of human history, sharks have been seen as a threat to us…. Only recently are we beginning to see we're a threat to them," U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries David Balton recently told The Washington Post.

Misunderstood "Monsters"

But sharks' reputation as unrelenting killers makes it difficult for most people to comprehend the species' vulnerability to human depredation. If sharks are to survive, the public must relearn what it thinks it knows about these deceptively powerful creatures. As Jean-Michel Cousteau put it, "Now, more than ever, two myths must be laid to rest. One, sharks are not mindless predators nor sinister man-eaters, and two, the oceans are not full of sharks."

Cruel Contests

In shark killing tournaments, individuals compete for prizes by catching the largest or the most sharks in a set period of time. Fishermen hook and gaff sharks, haul them onto docks—sometimes while still alive—weigh, and dismember them while a crowd cheers each fresh kill.

The "pay-off" can be substantial: at Montauk's Annual Festival, more than $725,000 in prizes was distributed in 2006.

Such bloody spectacles are a "spasm of macho nonsense" said author Peter Benchley following the release of his novel "Jaws." Benchley, whose book tapped into our seemingly primordial terror of sharks, emerged as a shark advocate. In a 2002 National Geographic interview, he spoke against mass shark killing: "There are too many fishermen with too much modern gear chasing too few fish…. It's a horrible situation, and there is very little shark management around the world."

Tournaments Target Threatened Species

Still, all through the summer, coastal communities in both the United States and Canada continue to host shark killing tournaments, some of which are rebroadcast on cable networks as sport. The most common targets of these shark hunts are blue, shortfin mako and thresher sharks.

In February, the IUCN reclassified threshers and shortfin makos as "vulnerable" to extinction. Over the past 20 years, the populations of blue and mako sharks in the North Atlantic have dropped by 50 to 70 percent.

One Community Says No

Some communities are rejecting the shark tournaments.

In March, Destin, Fla, changed its mind about its shark hunt after photographs of a violently mutilated hammerhead and a dead pregnant tiger shark exposed the tournament's cruelty and waste. HSUS Senior Vice President for Wildlife and Habitat Protection, John W. Grandy, worked with the town to eliminate the tournament. "Instead of holding festivals to promote the brutal killing of these magnificent creatures, we encourage communities to create festivals that exalt sharks' beauty and importance to the ocean ecosystem"   

What You Can Do

If you know of a shark tournament in your area or a region that you will be visiting this summer, contact the tournament's sponsors and tell them that you oppose shark killing contests because they are both cruel and environmentally irresponsible. If you would like information about how to mount a campaign against a local shark hunt, contact wildlife@hsus.org.