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Shooting A Mako !

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

Robbo66

Don't Mention Competitions
Jul 24, 2005
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Can you believe this !....what excellent PR.
:rcard

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4yqWWSOCh4&feature=related]YouTube - Mako My Day[/ame]
 
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It looks eerily passive. Not what you'd imagine spearing a shark would be like. Rather sad really. I guess it's not that uncommon to eat shark.
 
I guess it's not that uncommon to eat shark.

Its very common to eat Mako. You can even buy it in the seafood section of supermarkets in Southern California. Threshers are also very highly regarded as table fare.
 
Yes, I remember the long thread with many and varied arguements about shooting sharks. I find this whole area quite, well troubling really. Seems to me in the past when people were less sensetive, or should that be ignorant, then we just accepted killing fish. Now it's hard to draw a clear line anywhere. Kill to eat, kill for others to eat, maybe even kill for trophy or to sell. Then we go down the line of too rare, too easy, too big, too old, too young, etc...

I conclude it's hard to put your own values onto others. If it's legal but you wouldn't do it, you can say so, but you can't stop others or condem them for their beliefs. At the end of the day you have to be comfortable with what you do and that's not as easy as it sounds either.

On a final note is this any better [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-H4We7LdHQ]YouTube - Deep Blue - Bluefin World Record- DVD[/ame] . Good excuse to post that link anyway.

Dave

PS happy birthday Robbo.
 
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Mr X, partly what prompted me to post on this thread is the incident concerning a shark off Guernsey last year.

The local record rod caught porbeagle shark was taken 25 years ago. The captor made headline, front page news in the local press. He was universally praised. Not sure what happened to the shark and I'm sure no one else knew or was bothered. It may have been exported for the weird Frenchies to eat or cut up for pot bait or even dumped back out to sea. Whatever, the captor was a hero. But that was 25 years ago.

Last year a young lad in a small boat set out to catch sharks on his rod and to release them. Catch and release angling for sport. He catches a huge porbeagle breaking the 25 year old record. Quite a feat of angling, but to claim the record he has to kill the fish. Despite the small boat etc he lands the fish and claims the record. He too makes headline news but unlike 25 years ago he is villified. Aren't these sharks endangered? Why kill this beautiful creature? The press has a field day. Despite the fish being cut up sold for food locally and being hugely popular. Despite the money made going to charity this young lad is public enemy number one.

It really shook up the local anglers, most of whom were completely taken aback by the public outcry and even more so when some of their own, the hardcore C & R exponents, spoke out against the captor for killing a fish "just for the record".

What to conclude from all this, well no laws were broken and the captor has the record but a lot of people were forced to examine their motives and indeed beliefs.

As I said in my previous post, at the end of the day an individual has to make up his/her own mind but it aint easy.

Dave
 
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In the Northeast United States shark fishing, mostly sport fishing from boats, is a huge deal. There are tons of shark tournaments and Mako and Threshers are the prize fish. Personally I find nothing wrong with shark fishing (so long as the species is not endangered of course). However, personally I would never spear a shark (I fear it may be bad for my health (and not because of the high mercury content).:crutchWhile sharks are beautiful in the water, they are just like every other fish. Mahi are also beautiful (although their breeding habits make it basically impossible to overfish them) and no one complains about shooting them. Personally I find spearing Marlin or Sailfish to be more reprehensible (probably because they are protected here on the Northeast because of prior overfishing for many years) and are essentially trophy fish and are not eaten. In the long run the environmental impact of spearfishing sharks is extremely minute, especially compared to the way they are commercially fished all over the world. While I personally wouldn't do it, I can't find a good reason for chastising anyone else for doing so.

Besides, depending on how they actually land the shark, it may be a self-repairing problem. But hopefully not, I don't want to see anyone get hurt.
 
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Interesting story OMD. Seems a shame that the lad had to kill the beast to claim the record. I guess weighing a live shark accurately onboard ship could be problematic. Perhaps the problem was that he was encouraged to comprise his principles; had a professional shark fisherman landed the same fish, I wonder if there would have been as much fuss.

I can't help thinking about the movie "Shipping New" with Kevin Spacey & Dme. Judy Dench:

[Points at dark clouds at the horizon]
Billy: Tell me the headline.
Quoyle: Horizon Fills With Dark Clouds?
Billy: Imminent Storm Threatens Village.
Quoyle: But what if no storm comes?
Billy: Village Spared From Deadly Storm
 
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I personally think there's nothing wrong with it, as long as its eaten! Shooting a shark for food is no different in my opinion to shooting any other fish for food....its just bigger :)
 
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