kymtris
Registered
PLEASE READ IF YOU ARE AS PASSIONATE ABOUT SHARKS AS WE ARE!!
This has been a very sad week for Protea Banks, Shelly Beach, South Africa. Allegedly a mature Tiger shark was caught on Tuesday and decapitated for its jaws. Yesterday a Zambezi (Bull) shark and Oceanic Blacktip shark saw the same fate, confirmed report.
Although this practise is not illegal the loss of 3 sharks in just one week has a huge impact on the environment and Protea Banks, and these are the only the sharks we know about. What was illegal is that these sharks are supposed to be beached whole and not just with their heads cut off.
At the moment I fear the story is been handled in a very SENSATIONALIST way. This is not want I want to gain by making everyone aware of this. There currently no right or wrong: it is legal for fisherman to catch sharks , however as divers we are passionate about the sharks, especially when you get to dive with them daily and then you notice a shark you have dived with is now a trophy!
I am looking for people who share my same passion about sharks, to come up with constructive ideas on how we can fight this in a legal educational and non-sensational way. Our sharks need protection but I am also aware that fisherman have their own rights. Please we are looking for a solution going forward.
If anyone can assist me, please e-mail me on info@aquaplanet.co.za
Happy safe diving and I look forward to being able to show you sharks on Protea Banks for many years to come.
---------- Post added May 18th, 2013 at 03:42 AM ----------
After a sleepless night ...
NAME AND SHAME OR GET TO THE ROUTE OF THE PROBLEM? PLEASE READ IF YOU CARE FOR THE SHARKS IN OUR OCEAN.
I fell in love with the ocean at a very young age due to my father being and avid recreational fisherman. Without this early exposure to the sea, albeit it through fishing, my life may have not turned out the way it did.
I am very appreciative of all the feedback I am receiving and it is incredible to see all the support. The 3 killings of sharks has highlighted the activities going on, on Protea Banks, but the practice of killing sharks is not only unique to Protea Banks in South Africa.
By naming and shaming the fishing charters. What are we actually achieving? We are giving them exposure and inevitably saying to the fisherman out there that if you want to fish for sharks, these charters can fulfill your needs. Again I do not condone their actions or agree with their outlook, however the fact remains that they will continue to do this, as the law allows for it. And be it inhumane for us divers, it is still legal.
I believe the core problem here is not the fisherman but the law that exists. Although a few sharks are protected in South Africa, to cut a long story short the following does exist in the legislative:
‘There is a daily bag limit of one per species, but a total bag limit of 10 sharks of any species. Commercial fishermen are not restricted by these bag limits, but limiting the number of licences allocated within a particular sector controls the total fishing effort.’
Surely this in the core problem and the ‘enemy’, and this is what we need to work together to change. 10 SHARKS, PER PERSON, PER DAY! Can you imagine the impact on the environment, if each fisherman actually took up their legal right – the vast majority of which don’t.
So does this not equate to work on the laws, and then maybe the sharks can be protected! This is what we should be spending our energy on and not just sensational posts like ‘killer’/ ‘murder’ – what is this actually achieving in the long run?
Idealistic or naive maybe? SHOOT ME DOWN IF YOU WANT. But I have had my say.
This has been a very sad week for Protea Banks, Shelly Beach, South Africa. Allegedly a mature Tiger shark was caught on Tuesday and decapitated for its jaws. Yesterday a Zambezi (Bull) shark and Oceanic Blacktip shark saw the same fate, confirmed report.
Although this practise is not illegal the loss of 3 sharks in just one week has a huge impact on the environment and Protea Banks, and these are the only the sharks we know about. What was illegal is that these sharks are supposed to be beached whole and not just with their heads cut off.
At the moment I fear the story is been handled in a very SENSATIONALIST way. This is not want I want to gain by making everyone aware of this. There currently no right or wrong: it is legal for fisherman to catch sharks , however as divers we are passionate about the sharks, especially when you get to dive with them daily and then you notice a shark you have dived with is now a trophy!
I am looking for people who share my same passion about sharks, to come up with constructive ideas on how we can fight this in a legal educational and non-sensational way. Our sharks need protection but I am also aware that fisherman have their own rights. Please we are looking for a solution going forward.
If anyone can assist me, please e-mail me on info@aquaplanet.co.za
Happy safe diving and I look forward to being able to show you sharks on Protea Banks for many years to come.
---------- Post added May 18th, 2013 at 03:42 AM ----------
After a sleepless night ...
NAME AND SHAME OR GET TO THE ROUTE OF THE PROBLEM? PLEASE READ IF YOU CARE FOR THE SHARKS IN OUR OCEAN.
I fell in love with the ocean at a very young age due to my father being and avid recreational fisherman. Without this early exposure to the sea, albeit it through fishing, my life may have not turned out the way it did.
I am very appreciative of all the feedback I am receiving and it is incredible to see all the support. The 3 killings of sharks has highlighted the activities going on, on Protea Banks, but the practice of killing sharks is not only unique to Protea Banks in South Africa.
By naming and shaming the fishing charters. What are we actually achieving? We are giving them exposure and inevitably saying to the fisherman out there that if you want to fish for sharks, these charters can fulfill your needs. Again I do not condone their actions or agree with their outlook, however the fact remains that they will continue to do this, as the law allows for it. And be it inhumane for us divers, it is still legal.
I believe the core problem here is not the fisherman but the law that exists. Although a few sharks are protected in South Africa, to cut a long story short the following does exist in the legislative:
‘There is a daily bag limit of one per species, but a total bag limit of 10 sharks of any species. Commercial fishermen are not restricted by these bag limits, but limiting the number of licences allocated within a particular sector controls the total fishing effort.’
Surely this in the core problem and the ‘enemy’, and this is what we need to work together to change. 10 SHARKS, PER PERSON, PER DAY! Can you imagine the impact on the environment, if each fisherman actually took up their legal right – the vast majority of which don’t.
So does this not equate to work on the laws, and then maybe the sharks can be protected! This is what we should be spending our energy on and not just sensational posts like ‘killer’/ ‘murder’ – what is this actually achieving in the long run?
Idealistic or naive maybe? SHOOT ME DOWN IF YOU WANT. But I have had my say.
