where do you draw the line with sharks

[Craig Thailand]

Hey Joe,

Right like enough fish aren't being killed already, what a dumbass thing to say.
Get off your high horse buddy, I have been living here in Thailand for the past 8 years, I am a dive master and have been in the ocean since I was knee high to a grass hopper. I don't appreciate such retarded and delayed qoutations as these.
If you think that there are not enough sharks in the world then your right, but me taking out a blacktip is not going to make or break the ecostystem, agree?? Why don't you comment on Black Marlin, Sailfish or any other of the major game fish being shot?? If you really like sharks that much then please feel free to come over to Thailand, the place I was talking about is full of blacktips, seven or more tail to tail.

[tbgsub]

um......
firstly too many sharks are dying needless deaths at the hands of commercial industry for sharkfin soup in the pacific islands. those few (I hope) fisherman who paranoiacly protect their precious catch engage in negative killing out of pride and bravado.
in the Marianas, spearfishermen contribute to the marine taxman (agressive sharks) without question. sometimes bull shark dont get enough, and start arching for more, and you know it is time to leave, much like a disgruntled trucker at a bar who breaks a bottle in your honor. I dont believe in ever needing a powerhead because you shouldnt dive openwater alone, or without a boat nearby to exit the water.
I dont believe you should have to kill any shark unless your immediate life were in danger, I.E. 12-16ft tiger starts niping you even after you have jabbed him a few times, and given him all your fish, and your buddies poking isnt changing his mind, and you are prevented from exiting the water by said predator, in that rare circumstance the choice is up to you.

the rest of this poll is foolish speculation for someone new to the ocean world, and the predator prey dynamic.
sharks are like wild dogs, dont act like an easy prey and they will leave you be, respect them and most will respect you, after all, every time you plunge, you are in their world as a visitor, act like it. if in a large pack, even friendlies, you might consider leaving before they engage in group activities that are unsettling to your pallet.

and keep in mind the difference between hunting and Murdering, I hunt with humility and gratitude for food, to either feed the self and or a family, the rest is unnessary recreation, and dispaching any non prey fish; (sharks, or any sea mammal, and Turtles, stingrays, ect.) is murder in my book.

Like a shark, I stop when I have enough to feed me, and come back when I am hungry, it is still recreation, but with a higher purpose. and the permanent fishermen (sharks), AKA the Taxman, will sense this about you and give you some latitude.

thanks,

TBG

[Craig Thailand]

I think it is all down to the individual, i would take the shot long before it had me in a situation where i thought i may loose my life. If it's me or the shark, no matter how small the risk is, i would take a shot with out blinking. I have a wife and a child to care for a career to think about and although we are a visitor in there world i still don't think it justifys having to wait until my life is on a thread before i take a shot. I am not saying that every dive i go on sharks would be on the list but i would like to shoot one, just like you may like to shoot a sailfish or a huge bluefin tuna before you die. I don't think it is really that big a deal to be honest with you, i respect your opinion and i realize that it is the opinion of the majority but you should realize that like anything in the world it is made up of a colective body of different opinions and interests.
I am glad you are so confident in the water with sharks but i unfortunatly am pretty scared of them, i am not going to lie about it. If you love them so much that you would only kill one if your life hung on a thread then thats all very well and good, and believe me that is very brave of you. However my life and well being are of upmost improtance to me and as i said i would not loose any sleep over that. Hope you understand my point of view even if you don't agree. P.S we are talking about the same topic on another thread on this site it is titled indentifying sharks in Qatar or something like that, sorry i don't know how to do a link. You might find it interesting, thanks

[ROBERT REYES]

Guys, you have to keep an open mind, it all depends on were you dive
and what species of shark do you encounter.
Still, the smallest shark, bits you far from land, and away from help,
you can bleed to death, and even in the best conditions, with help,
do you really want to risk a limb?
Sharks are beautiful creatures, comercial fishermen have really made
a big dent on them in many parts of the world, they should be protected,
but there are places were they are really abundant, and some of them
are really dangerous.
They have no hands, so to investigate they use their mouth full of teeth,
so , every encounter should be view in a diferent way, and act acordinly.


http://www.sharkattacks.com/
Go To :Victims Gallery and enjoy.

[naiad]

Originally Posted by Craig Thailand

Look at my pics from Burma and you will see I shot a whale shark in the head with my speargun .

Why? Surely they are harmless?

[Marwan]

im not sure naiad, i think he was making a joke, right craig?

[Craig Thailand]

Yes, i was making a joke. I was just stressing that i said in a previuos post that a blacktip or seven wouldn't go a miss and Joe seemed to believe i was planning on getting seven. It was just a joke, i plan to get one and thats it.
The whale shark in the picture was a baby girl, about 2.5m in length and stayed and played with me for about half an hour, wouldn't let me get out.

[seaman]

Originally Posted by Oldsarge

I don't shoot lions, I don't shoot wolves, I don't shoot grizzlies and it isn't just because the trophy tags are completely out of my budget, either. John Taylor, the guru of large British African calibers, would only shoot lions if they were eating up the locals. Otherwise, if he encountered one that wasn't aggressive he'd nod a polite greeting and call out "Good hunting, brother!" I feel that way about all the apex predators, and that includes sharks and billfish. "We be of one blood, you and I." Sooooo, I'd just get out of the water!

Dear Sarge, had you ever readed Man Eaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett? the book is Amazing, I guess you would enjoy it a lot ...

[Craig Thailand]

JUST TO CONFIRM FOR THE VISUALLY CHALLANGED, IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY AND ACTUALLY READ THE THREAD FROM THE BEGINING YOU WILL SEE IT IS THE TIP OF A FISHING ROD, THE GUY FISHING WITH IT COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT THE WHALESHARK, HE JUST WANTED TO CATCH AMBERJACKS!!!!!!!!

[seaman]

i didn`t even see the pics, i found the whale shark joke a bit rude, cause they are so sacred among divers. I got your point really good. To kill or not to kill that is the question, wetter tis nobler in the mind to stick an arrow in the head of an amberjack or to take arms against a sea lion,. the universal rule thou shall not kill, it`s just that universal. I really like to feed steel to most fishes though, so maybe i`am an hipocryte, guilty as charged. But i still have a code of honor that excludes certain creatures that are sacred from my( intersubjective constructed) sense of reality .. for some people there is no differences between a cockroach and a human baby, While others eat dogs. We westerners see dogs as friends and not food. But that is just a cultural thing that goes close with the norms and values system of the cultural structure. If you like to spear sharks, and eat them, go ahead and enjoy, just be careful, cause they are tough as nails. And for my particular and biased point of view, your particular life, worths for me more than all the sharks toghether for that matter ...

[Craig Thailand]

Thou hast made a strong point, the strength of thy forefathers runs deep in thy veins. lol
Back to the point, I would get out if it was a big enough shark and of a dangerous species.

[deep thinker]

Seein that were on the subject, personnaly I wont kill a shark for food. Maybe cause the people I know and normally have over mite be a bit squimish to eat one and also the one time Ive had shark meat it was dried and not very tasty at all... On the subject of where do I draw the line it depends on the type of shark and like some posts mentioned where Im diving. If I ever end up in the position of being in the water with a inquisitive 5m+ GWS Id do exactly the same as what I did the first time, get out asap. These guys are not our freinds, they are big strong and get annoyed if you shoot them with a toothpick. Just keep your spear in your gun and get out of there. Other places I dive I only ever saw a small raggy and they just see if theres something to score, but if the bigger ones get agro Id also get out. So yea depending on type and size Id get out most of the time...

[seaman]

Originally Posted by deep thinker

Seein that were on the subject, personnaly I wont kill a shark for food. Maybe cause the people I know and normally have over mite be a bit squimish to eat one and also the one time Ive had shark meat it was dried and not very tasty at all... On the subject of where do I draw the line it depends on the type of shark and like some posts mentioned where Im diving. If I ever end up in the position of being in the water with a inquisitive 5m+ GWS Id do exactly the same as what I did the first time, get out asap. These guys are not our freinds, they are big strong and get annoyed if you shoot them with a toothpick. Just keep your spear in your gun and get out of there. Other places I dive I only ever saw a small raggy and they just see if theres something to score, but if the bigger ones get agro Id also get out. So yea depending on type and size Id get out most of the time...

You gotta try some shark panuchos, fromt the Veracruz coast, oh man, those little cakes are tasty!! imagine, some tomato, basil and olive!! yumm!

[tbgsub]

If it's me or the shark, no matter how small the risk is, i would take a shot with out blinking. I have a wife and a child to care for a career to think about and although we are a visitor in there world i still don't think it justifys having to wait until my life is on a thread before i take a shot.

if you are at the point of thinking me or (it/them), then the line is drawn isnt it? the decision made in the mind long before the interaction, for a timely self preservation response this is the best option. that much I completely agree with you.

but be cautious of pre-emptive contemplations that can yield to pre-emptive ramifications. e.g. a missed shot!! if it comes down to it; I would feel safe with, point blank to the head as a last resort to survuval, then the knife comes into play. with the range of many bluewater guns, you may not be giving much time for a change of intentions from the predator, and you might be risking a cruitial chance to simply jab it away. there is a reason Stingrays have barbs; most likely, call this a hunch, to avoid similar predation. Millions of years of evolutionary response cant be wrong. it is only recently we see how effective this evolution really is, and I see it as a natural defense mechanism that some of us get a chance to learn from.

I wouldnt dare suggest risking your life and family for preseving wildlife, the choice is always ours individually, and we either live or die with those choices, I am just stressing to make it a careful, and wise one.

P.s. I wouldnt kill a blue marlin if I saw one and was prepared for it. I am not a trophy minded individual, ok maby one GT but for keeps and a meal,
nor do I fall for the super hottie that walks into the party, except for the one that I married, but she had an irresistible mind that lured me to new depths of grandure. but as a small word of advice, if an unfriendly girl walks into a party it might be wise to leave the room before her unfriendly girlfriends follow suit, or you might suffer the bitch slapping frenzy of a lifetime, and it might not even be about you. I used to have two friendly girl room mates, and when they turned on eachother it was time for me to leave!

"to shoot or not to shoot, that seems to be the question? you answer; while, "to exit the water or stay", was I believe the one posed.

[deep thinker]

I agree with tgsub, you dont want to fire off a shot and miss, this having possible disastrous ramifications to your own wellbeing, if the shark comes in for a taste after you missed it your stuck with a blunt object to hit it over the head with, o and a short knife for it to use as a toothpick after it swallowed your hand while you were trying to stab it. Where a jab with a 1m plus extension to your arm with a nice sharp barb to the end would have been a much better defence agains a fast moving animal with a whole mouth full of steak knifes. If a shark attacks you you want too keep it as far away from you as you can possibly manage while you gracefully make a escape and come back to fight another day.
Just my 2 sents worth