Spike TV: Killing Sharks!

I first thought was WTF!

I cannot believe, even for Spike TV (a subsidiary of MTV), that they would glorify such a "tournament." The premise of the show is to follow OVER 200 boats with 1000 fisherman as they "compete" to catch the largest shark, or MONSTERS of the deep as they are inaptly referred to in Yahoo's Spike TV press release.

Then get this, the featured "hunter" Captain (being loosely defined) Damon Sacco looks for REDEMPTION this year after the 1200 lb Tiger he caught, and killed, in 2005 was not counted due to him being 6 minutes late to the dock.

There are some articles that even relate this to Spike TV competing in the same waters as Discovery Channel and its famed Shark Week.

After all that is being done to counter these acts and educate the public I find this absolutely absurd for this to be broadcasted. I am not naive to think that these tournaments do not occur, but for it to be glorified on a nationally televised program is astonishing.

Please share your thoughts on this....Have I just missed this being advertised for some time now? I do not watch Spike that often, but this caught my attention -quick!

The show airs 3 Sept.

Never heard of Spike tv... and I'm glad....what a bunch of complete A*holes..

Wouldn't it be better viewing to chum the waters and throw the fishermen in then see who gets out alive, then if they do club the losers to a pulp....

Obviously I'm peed off...

Dive safe

DeanB

P.s ....Whats this doing on the Beginner thread ????...Moderators please move....

I personally ... whilst love sharks .. and am 100% against cruel acts like finning cannot say much against fishing. purely for competition is not my thing, but i agree with fishing for food when the entire animal is used to feed us as a race.

I personally think of it as nothing dissimilar to cathing any other fish. Obviously there is nothing illegal about fishing for sharks as with most other fish. What I would be disappointed to hear is if there is no limits on it, such as size or breeding females etc. I would like to know that at least the fishing is controlled to a point that will not harm further reproduction of the species.

I am suresomeone with more knowledge will correct me if I am wrong on this as in sharks in general should all be protected and just aren't .. or they are and this shouldn't happen at all. Which if the case this is very upsetting, but in my mind fishing is not a bad thing.

edit: isn't there a whole channel devoted to fishing or hunting like the outdoor channel or sportsman channel ?

I caught this on tv when it aired and was truely disgusted. Especially since shark numbers are in drastic decline these days with the finning industry - the full effects of which we have yet to see, (ex. the clam industry in north carolina has completely collapsed as an indirect result of shark fishing).

I even heard one fisherman talking to the cameras about how they feel "connected with the natural world" when out shark fishing.

I personally think of it as nothing dissimilar to cathing any other fish. Obviously there is nothing illegal about fishing for sharks as with most other fish.

though I am no expert/biologist/naturalist, I believe the difference is the low reproductivity rate of sharks vs other fish. Because they are predators, they do not "naturally" face many threats, so they exist in smaller numbers, take longer to reach sexual maturity, and repoduce slowly versus most other fish, often bearing only a single pup.

Take the whaling industry as an example of another group of animals with a very slow reproductivity rate and how many species were brought to the brink of extinction last century. This is now happening with many species of sharks on a much more horrifying scale and using much more advanced technology.

Fishing for subsidy IS an integral part of our planet's life-giving power. but when done on horribly unsustainable levels, like shark finning today, then fishing for that "monster" shark just for the fun of killing something CANNOT be justified.

Wouldn't it be better viewing to chum the waters and throw the fishermen in then see who gets out alive, then if they do club the losers to a pulp....

indeed, let them go one-on-one, hand to teeth with these "monster" sharks and act triumphant. disgusts me.

Chris

P.S. sorry to rant, this stuff gets me so worked up these days.

I completely get what everyone is saying, and I hadn't thought of the longer to reach sexual maturity and the other reasons chris listed as why fishing for shark is different to fishing for other fish.

I don't think though, even with these very valid and real reasons for not catching sharks by fishing , that we can say that fishing for shark is responsible for their decline. When I say fishing I mean valid catching for eating fishing, or catching and releasing unharmed.

I just found online footage of the video .. first thing i see is a small shark getting caught and released. Then they catch a bigger one which they just cut loose. I have no sound as I am at work .. but nothing bad from that clip. http://www.ifilm.com/video/2891482

Another Video http://www.ifilm.com/video/2891512 shows again .. trying to catch but I don't think getting it.

And Understandably just catching a monster shark for competition cannot be justified in our marine conservative minds, but isn't it true that we humans love to see competition of the best .. the Olympics came about from messengers running across Greece .. i guess an emperor wanted to know who was fastest .. rodeos and bullfighting celebrate the capture of animals on land .. why does this competition have to be justified when from some of the most glorified sports (Olympics) to cruel to animals sports (bull fighting etc) we humans in some aspect support and enjoy competition whereby we prove ourselves to be the apex hunter !

[...And Understandably just catching a monster shark for competition cannot be justified in our marine conservative minds, but isn't it true that we humans love to see competition of the best .. the Olympics came about from messengers running across Greece .. i guess an emperor wanted to know who was fastest .. rodeos and bullfighting celebrate the capture of animals on land .. why does this competition have to be justified when from some of the most glorified sports (Olympics) to cruel to animals sports (bull fighting etc) we humans in some aspect support and enjoy competition whereby we prove ourselves to be the apex hunter!]

Giles-

This quote from "Conservation Esthetic" by Aldo Leopold makes a necessary distinction for that aspect of "what we humans love" in proving ourselves:

"Scientists have an epigram: ontogeny repeats phylogeny. What they mean is that the development of each individual repeats the evolutionary history of the race. This is true of mental as well as physical things. The trophy-hunter is the caveman reborn. Trophy-hunting is the prerogative of youth, racial or individual, and nothing to apologize for.

The disquieting thing in the modern picture is the trophy-hunter who never grows up..."

nosrod