Saturday, July 30, 2011

55 dead Baby Hammerheads?

Shocking picture! But...

Please re-read Rick's post.
Did you notice the part about the moronic comments?
Case in point, yesterday's scoop by the GSCI - copy/paste.

The Global Shark Conservation Initiative 55 baby hammerheads, a full new generation, was lost because 1 man wanted to have the "fun to reel in" a big shark...

www.heraldtribune.com
The world-record hammerhead caught by a local fishing guide last month was big for a reason.

  • 3 people like this.

    • Jill Hirschi that guy deserves to be shot!
      19 hours ago · 2 people

    • Mia Evans He deserves his stomach cut open like this poor shark
      19 hours ago · 1 person

    • Elisa Plati What a freiken loser!!!!! Give him to me with a hook and fishing line and I will show him how much damage they can do!!! Seriously so much life lost for one mans selfish goal!!! Disgusting!!!
      18 hours ago

    • Rising Sun Wee ‎: "Real Men protect, they do not harm the young for any reason."
      17 hours ago · 4 people

    • Heather Woolley Oh Man,does this once again not show the need for some of the males in our species to dominate,prove,and behave in the most cruel way against Nature and the rest of Humanity.Does the big dog,big dick syndrom apply here?or my weapns bigger than your weapon?I hasten to add there are gentle and kind males out there too,who dont need to pove they are the Hunters of the Cave dwelling days!
      17 hours ago

    • Lee Kharod bad enough to catch for sport but what ever happened to catch and release?
      16 hours ago

    • Roon Sumner Oh The Humanity!!
      16 hours ago

    • Stephen William THIS fuckin ass clown should be killed!!! When the fuck are people gonna realize what the hell they are doing??? I CANNOT even begin to fathom the mindset of someone like this!!! Like others said, catch and release if you must feel the need to catch animals such as this!!! This asshole must have a small dick to feel the need to slaughter something so amazing as a 40+ year old shark and drag its majestic lifeless corpse back to a dock to show off!!!! Wanna prove yer a "big man" and have balls??? Why not get dropped off some where and go Taliban or terrorist hunting??? Oh thats to dangerous cause they can shoot back???!! Fuckin pussy!!!
      15 hours ago

    • Jason A Creech The knee-jerk, human reaction to this kind of slaughter by those of us sympathetic to ocean-life, and all life for that matter, is usually anger and blame. This anger and blame is ineffectual and misdirected. Through activism and policy change the responsibility lies with us. There are always going to be shortsighted, pitiless idiots. We can wish them dead but wish in one hand and poop in the other and see which one fills up first. Act, vote, sign petitions. Anger is a gift.
      14 hours ago · 2 people

    • Kevin Van der Beeuren What a complete idiot! 'Stop looking at me I didn't do anything wrong... How old is he...' I wanna dive with hammerheads!
      14 hours ago

    • Tonya Camp What a sad, monumental waste! All for someone's 'big thrill'.
      3 hours ago
Really?
Did anybody bother to read the article in the link?
Did anybody notice that the article is from 2006? It says it right there - twice!
How utterly embarrassing - and how revealing!

But Jason is of course correct.
It is not about who screeches the stupidest and loudest, it is about effecting change.

Here is what has happened since.
Bucky killed another record pregnant Hammerhead in 2009 and the ensuing debate motivated a few good people among which the Shark Brothers, Bob Heuter and Guy Harvey to embark on reforming game fishing for Sharks. The result: the Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge Tournament Series - where the very same Bucky Dennis is now practicing catch-and-release fishing for Sharks! I still don't like it - but it sure is a big step in the right direction and as always in real conservation, it is a pragmatic compromise and the result of much hard work.
Now, how motivating is it gonna be for Bucky to have his name dragged through the dirt five years after the fact and after he has voluntarily reformed the way he fishes?

And this is not all.
From what I understand, there is now a movement within the IGFA to abolish all-tackle weight records that will always result in pregnant females being targeted and killed. I am optimistic: if the gun toting trophy hunters have managed to outlaw killing pregnant females, so can the game fishermen who are increasingly advocating sustainable practices.

Plus, more good people have embarked on the arduous path of having Hammerheads protected in Florida - once again sans moronic screeching but with a lot of hard and persistent work on the ground. Here's the latest progress report with pointers about how to get involved - politely!

And the screeching activists?
I'd be lying if I said that I'm in any way surprised, or that I expect any improvements going forward. It is what it is and whilst those folks will continue to propagate their stupidities, others will thankfully continue working hard and hopefully (fingers crossed!) avoid being lumped in with the whacks, FINtastic and not.

And so it goes...

1 comment:

Horizon Charters Guadalupe Cage Diving said...

The Great Wind, propagated from the nether regions of dark and enduring stupidity, wrapped in a halo of messianic passion.

God help the shark conservation movement.