Shark Fishing Tournaments

Killing sharks for fun?

In most states, it is legal to hunt large marine predators for sport. Shark fishing tournaments are popular events that draw crowds of spectators. Some fishing clubs have switched to only allow catch and release, while others vehemently defend the practice of the kind of fishing that lets participants bring in a big animal. They claim it is part of the thrill and will not harm the overall populations of sharks.

Seeing “monster” sharks being killed and strung up is unfortunately still a great attraction and is celebrated in yearly events. The hunting of animals for the sake of sport and entertainment is an archaic pursuit that causes harm and suffering. It is a slap in the face of Mother Nature and is proof not of skill, but of arrogance and cruelty. This is NOT fishing at a subsistence level, many people around the world depend on catching fish for their daily survival. We are talking about the killing of animals for fun.

There are roughly 70 shark tournaments that result in up to 70,000 sharks being taken in a fishing season (EcoWatch). The number of sharks that are dumped back into the ocean because they are not of prize-winning size is unreported. Mostly the larger shark species are targeted in tournaments, which are also the most endangered, such as Mako, Porbeagle, Thresher, and Blue shark. Mako has declined 60-96% worldwide. Therefore the Mako shark is now under CITES Appendix II protection. According to NOAA, the population is “significantly below target population level,” however, they still don’t seem to see the need to truly protect the species. While commercial fishing is impacting higher numbers of sharks than shark tournaments, the threat lies in the fact that the competitions focus on just a handful of species in very localized areas.

Since the larges catches win, the targeted sharks are often the most important ones to the shark population, because they are of prime breeding age. And with most shark species, the females are the largest individuals. It is not rare to see pregnant females being killed. Take this story for example, of a Texas fisherman that reeled in a large Tigershark, essentially for the only purpose of winning a prize and bragging rights. The animal died not because someone needed food. This kind of fishing is no different than trophy hunting of elephants and big cats.

The reality is that shark tournaments promote a mindset of dominance over nature and a lack of valuing life and resources. Commercial shark fishing is stressful enough. Adding additional pressure from trophy hunting is extremely damaging to the populations of sharks, long-term. It adds insult to injury. Furthermore, while we always tend to work in other countries that we perceive as worse, we must continue to take a hard look at ourselves. Before we point fingers we should always clean up our own backyard. For an interesting look into one of these tournaments read this Guardian article.