ESPN unspeakable show

[scottfiji]

It's a frikkin fish! 100 million a year? ROTFLMFAO! Do you just make stuff up as you go along all the time?

If people don't start valueing life in the ocean, soon there won't be much to see when you go diving. And how would you like to be dragged with a hook in you? Do you feel this way about other species (It's a frikkin dog!) or other nationalities (It's a frikkin Iraqi!) - where do you draw the line?

 

[drbill]

I think there is a tremendous difference between killing for food and killing for "sport." I see no equality between the two. I do not fish and I do not hunt any more although I did for many years. However I have no disagreement with those who hunt or fish for food and do so responsibly and legally. I have no respect for those who kill for sport or who knowingly take illegal catch (such as short lobster).

Just remember, Wildcard, when the green "aliens" from the planet Xanadu land with their spaceships and harvest people for food, when they get you you're only a human being.

Yes, Chris Hecker, we live as part of the "mutual eating society." Ecological interactions such as feeding are often violent and deadly of necessity. However, other than humans, few species kill for sport.

Dr. Bill

 

[whalerkyle]

If all you guys feel so strongly about this subject, don't write to ESPN. You need to focus on changing the laws. What these shark fishermen did was completely legal.
I love Mako Shark hunting, and I do kill 2-3 Makos every summer by speargun. I also love trolling for Threshers, and avoiding the tail snag.
There is no size limit in California for Mako or Thresher Shark, but there is a limit of 2 per person, per day, and I for one think there needs to be a size limit. I won't take anything less than 6 feet.

I thought the show was cool.

Kyle

 

[redacted]

However I have no disagreement with those who hunt or fish for food and do so responsibly and legally. I have no respect for those who kill for sport...
Dr. Bill

When I hunted & fished, I did it for sport. I ate the game that I shot and ate or released the fish that I caught. But the clear purpose was sport, not subsistance. While I don't have any urge to engage in the sport of competetive shark fishing, I would not contest their right to legally participate in the sport. Whether it ends up as food or fertilizer, the end result for the animal is the same.

 

[docmartin]

Don't forget where that burger came from, or how someone had to cut down some trees so you had toilet paper, (i'm sure you don't use plastic) and just how many vegetables had to give their lives for your delicious salad??? (before i get flamed, please realize the following were examples of stuff that happens EVERY DAY right in front of us) it is a very cruel world...........................................................

i have not noticed any shortage of cattle or trees lately. have you?

 

[hecker-the-wrecker]

i have not noticed any shortage of cattle or trees lately. have you?

No, there isn't. In fact i have decided to burn wood this year, fuel oil is up to $1.70 a gallon for home heating fuel. I also ordered a half of beef for the freezer. I am a consumer of "natural/or unnatural resources" Does your question imply there is a shortage of sharks in the ocean? They aren't listed as endangered? :06:

 

[Hank49]

i have not noticed any shortage of cattle or trees lately. have you?

It's true that there is a decline in shark numbers, but is it a result of fishing for and killing sharks? Or, the decline of the food chain that ultimately feeds the sharks? I wouldn't think that sport fishing has much impact. It's the long liners and trawlers that do the most damage. Wild fish catches have been declining steadily for years.
And although it looks cruel when catching a shark, it's pretty much the same catching any fish. You have to wear them out to get them up to the boat and gaff or net them. That's fishing.

 

[Drewpy]

was the intreviews with shark attack victims that were strategicly stuck in between
the different boats landing the fish-had absolutely nothing to do with the tournament!

It was almost as if they were saying"Big bad sharks attack people-so lets go kill them!"

Why couldnt they be tagged and released, like so many of the billfish tournaments..?

 

[scottfiji]

No, there isn't. In fact i have decided to burn wood this year, fuel oil is up to $1.70 a gallon for home heating fuel. I also ordered a half of beef for the freezer. I am a consumer of "natural/or unnatural resources" Does your question imply there is a shortage of sharks in the ocean? They aren't listed as endangered? :06:

We have a history of hunting species until their numbers become very low or extinct (e.g - whales, sea otters, abalone, sea bass). We should become more proactive and not engage in wasteful killing of fish (e.g. - killing large numbers of sharks for their fins, cutting off their fins, and throwing them back in). If we don't limit ourselves, species will become endangered, but by then it's usually too late.

 

[Mike Veitch]

I am glad to see there are many others who care about the well being of sharks.

WOuld like to point people to another link:
http://www.bite-back.com/sharks/index.html

What most will find interesting is the list of 20 sharks in danger of becoming extinct by 2017.

Chris Hecker, comparing the slaughter (finning) of sharks to the production of beef and timber products is not in the same class. Cattle are raised specifically for the purpose of human consumption, they are in no way threatened with extinction.
As for trees, many people get upset with the slashing of old growth forests, but it comes down to the fact that there is a very healthy tree planting industry as well, a lot of the wood used in toilet paper production comes from trees that have been planted for harvest.

Don't see anyone planting the oceans with baby sharks for future human consumption?!

I have no problem with sport fishing in and of itself. It is when a particular group of creatures that no longer have the numbers to support it is targeted and glamourized that i have a problem. I am not saying this is due to over sportfishing, it is clearly due to commercial overfishing. That is why glamourizing the sport is not needed at this point in time, the populations of these animals are already at risk. Unfortunately, I believe ESPN to be very irresponsible in this fashion.