750 lb hammerhead

[mrjimboalaska]

Geez people, I fertilize my Banana plants and pineapple plants with fish, much better than processed(chemical) fertilzers. I'm not a reef pillager, but I'm not going to jump on that Reef Hugger wagon, I've seen what the anti-loggers have done to our forests,
man has been fishing(and cutting trees) since time began, that's why the good lord gave us fish(and trees) boy, bet I catch hell for sayin that!!!!

 

[simonspear]

The trouble I have with all of this is that man never knows when to stop. Sports fishing isn't going to wipe out a species, that'll be the domain of commercial fishing, but when sharks and many other large pelagic species are already in such decline, why do sports fisherman have to actually kill them? They don't eat them and I'd far rather have the opportunity to come across that shark one day diving than I would knowing that it had fertilised my orange trees. I'm sure the same theory actually applies for fisherman who one day might get to catch that shark again. Sharks can be caught by sport fishing and quite successfully released again. For anyone who's interested then do a quick google search and you'll find plenty of info on it.

I'm not a tree hugger (or shark hugger for that matter), but since I've been diving it's opened my eyes to the wonders of our water planet. I wouldn't want to impose a ban on catching sharks for sport - that would be like a fisherman trying to impose a ban on diving. I just don't get it why sports fishing has to be so destructive when it does not need to be. It's like a diver going along trashing the reef for no other reason then they've seen it so it doesn't matter if it's not there in the future.

 

[Walter]

Sharks are part of a balanced ecosystem.........................It's best that it was buried and not tossed back without making sure it was ok to go back in the sea and die a poor waste.

Why would you think they are a part of a balanced ecosystem and then think it's best to remove it from the ecosystem? It's best, IMO, to leave it in the sea, hopefully alive, but even if dead.

I've not yet seen a shark while diving yet (hopefully to be remedied next week)

Good luck, but be patient. Seeing a shark in it's natural environment, exhibiting it's natural behavior (that doesn't incluced feedings) is one of the most inspiring experiences you can have. Unfortunately, they are all too rare.

 

[H2Andy]

man has been fishing(and cutting trees) since time began

well, no.. time began with the Big Bang some 15 billion years ago... men
(defined as homo sapiens) have been fishing and cutting trees for
less than 200,000 years, tops...

but... go to Haiti some time and see what happens when you
cut down your forests and over-fish your reefs

 

[RonFrank]

Geez people, I fertilize my Banana plants and pineapple plants with fish, much better than processed(chemical) fertilzers. I'm not a reef pillager, but I'm not going to jump on that Reef Hugger wagon, I've seen what the anti-loggers have done to our forests,
man has been fishing(and cutting trees) since time began, that's why the good lord gave us fish(and trees) boy, bet I catch hell for sayin that!!!!

Not sure that I believe that the "good lord gave US fish, or trees". In this case what was the purpose of killing this Shark? Did they eat it... no. Did they stuff it and put in someplace so people can learn more about sharks? No.... They basically caught it, and killed it for a trophy, and then buried it. That IMO is wrong.

I also do see NOT a parallel between forest management, and trophy fishing. My father managed forests USDA for decades, so I know a bit about this. What exactly have the tree-huggers done to the forests? I'm not siding one way or another on resource management, just asking for your explaination.

 

[deeper thoughts]

I do believe the good lord gave us these things but i do agree with the rest of your statements, each his own

 

[mrjimboalaska]

Ron,
Not to step away from the thread here, BUT, the whole ecosystem is tied together. My Fathr and grandfather cut timber for decades, and the last 30 years of USFS management of the Forests, along with the "greenpeace push" have left our forests overgrown, choked, and now when they burn, THEY BURN. I watched some of the best hunting areas in Idaho go up in smoke due to the inability to thin the fuel out of them. Look at private land used to grow timber, it is well managed and beautiful(back east for the most part).

 

[Misplaced Priority]

Keeping and killing this shark was poor form. There is nothing usefull to keep it. You would not want to even eat any of such a large fish because it is most likely full of heavy metals. Boo Hiss to these guys.

 

[isurus]

Ron,
Not to step away from the thread here, BUT, the whole ecosystem is tied together. My Fathr and grandfather cut timber for decades, and the last 30 years of USFS management of the Forests, along with the "greenpeace push" have left our forests overgrown, choked, and now when they burn, THEY BURN. I watched some of the best hunting areas in Idaho go up in smoke due to the inability to thin the fuel out of them. Look at private land used to grow timber, it is well managed and beautiful(back east for the most part).

OK I'll bite on this one cos someone has too....how did the forests survive before we rocked up with our trusty chainsaws to save them?:06:

EDITED: to add - not meant to sound as sarcastic as it did - I generally don't know about the fire-regenerative forest ecosystems but this seemed like a logical question someone had to ask.

Also: burying it what a totally pointless exercise....just needless waste - they've let the sportfishing community down.

 

[Walter]

OK I'll bite on this one cos someone has too....how did the forests survive before we rocked up with our trusty chainsaws to save them?:06:

Prior to our intervention, fires burned themselves out, clearing away the underbrush. As a result, there was less fuel for fires and they were fairly small. Once we started stomping them out as soon as they started, a great deal of fuel accumulated. Now when a fire gets going, it's huge and unstoppable. Putting out fires has been shown to actually cause bigger fires down the road.