Spear fisherman kills tiger shark

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03122009/news/...ooth_159201.htm

I'm always a little suspicious when I know something is being filmed because it has a staged feel but he does say the right things.

Yup he "had" to kill it. I don't know how many folks who have been circled for days on end by tigers in the Bahamas have a different perspective on what "had to" means. But, who knows for certain.

it seems very strange to me that in the video clips shown there are no real signs of the tiger shark acting in an aggressive manner.

http://news.aol.com/article/shark-video-tr...backlash/381492

Stew

If the shark was attacking why did it not injure someone?

The shark was shot several times but did not get one bite in?

Come on.

A sharks attacks a group of divers, none are injured, pictures/video are taken, and the shark is shot 4-5 times with a spear gun?!

Where was this done, Roswell?

i am no forensic scientist but looking at the angle of entry of the 3 spears on the top of the tiger, it appears that the shark was swimming away from the free diver. the spear that has hit the sharks gills was also shot from behind, looking at the angle of the spear. it doesnt look very convincing to me. i would have thought that the shark would have had a spear in its face had it been intent on doing the free diver any harm. and why did it take 2 hours. if you watch the video interview, the guy sat in the middle looks a little uncomfortable when certain questions are asked.

my opinion ( which counts for nowt ) is that this was a tiger shark happily cruising its territory and these guys thought they would see if the could kill it. it was swimming below them and they swam above it and fired spears into it as it was swimming away from them.

i have not been lucky enough to have dived with tigers yet, but if tigers give the same aggressive mode signs ( arched back, pectoral fins pointing down ) as all the species of shark i have dived with, then these guys never captured any of this.

stew

The last photo tells it all, spearfisherman very pround of his "trophy".

Agree with angles of spears, shot from above and behind.

Unprovoked kill by the spearfisherman looking for his trophy!

Clasen took no pleasure in his victory last June. "This was one of the most remorseful moments I have ever had in all of my years in hunting and fishing," he said.

Really makes you wonder what was done that tops this one...he looks full of remorse in the shot with the jaws and tail.

The killing was "absolutely not" for show, Clasen said. "It was so remorseful for us. It was a quiet boat ride home."

Seems like the boat was right there. Don't know about you but if I thought a Tiger Shark was acting a bit aggressive I would probably get onto the boat.

Seems like the boat was right there. Don't know about you but if I thought a Tiger Shark was acting a bit aggressive I would probably get onto the boat.

i think that would be my option also, the guys a jerk. looking for his 5 minutes of fame. what i cant understand is why he had to spear it so many times and why it took 2 hours to do. surely if he had speared it once, then surfaced, he would have got straight on the boat and not got back in.

stew

i think that would be my option also, the guys a jerk. looking for his 5 minutes of fame. what i cant understand is why he had to spear it so many times and why it took 2 hours to do. surely if he had speared it once, then surfaced, he would have got straight on the boat and not got back in.

 

stew

We all know how fast a shark moves when it wants to. 2 Hours while freediving and the shark (a) does not head out after the first shot and/or (b) did not injure any of them during two hours when it had been shot and they are freediving and have to surface? Really does not add up....

Too bad the shark lost and the big bad spear "dwad" won! I would like to see some footage of Jim Abernethy's interaction with the Tiger Sharks on CNN!

Actually the most important thing is experience with sharks. A spear gun, uncocked, is more than enough to fend off a tiger shark or great white, especially when they are investigating blood smells. So when these guys say they dive with sharks all the time, which may be true, they dive with a view of the shark as a threat to their catch and their own fear. Let's be fair to say that anyone having a 12 ft anything with teeth headed for you will have some anxiety.

Unfortunately, many spearos won't hesitate to shoot a shark that passes their comfort zone. Happens everywhere.

Seeing how this all happened in June and the article that featured them was the real start of the whole thing:

http://outside.away.com/outside/culture/20...oil-rigs-1.html

Seems they were making a catalog for a promotion of some sort of spearo company. So all this free publicity doesn't hurt either. By the way, this sort of thing happens more often than you think. More often, the spearos keep the kill quiet.

With all the screaming etc, the boat was nearby so they could've aborted. Posing with the shark, swimming with it while it was still alive to bring it up to the surface. Their words do not reflect their actions.

Seems they were making a catalog for a promotion of some sort of spearo company. So all this free publicity doesn't hurt either. By the way, this sort of thing happens more often than you think. More often, the spearos keep the kill quiet.

Someone else had mentioned the catalog and it does seem they were playing the publicity....

Did not see the article before, thanks for the link, some more interesting quotes in there.

There's a shot of the guys holding the mouth open on shore where you see 5 spears through the head. The gill shot, if that's it in the photo clearly missed the gills. Something that really doesn't add up after watching the interview on the link is the lack of footage. He claims he got them out of the area. The cameraman claims to have switched the camera on immediately...which appears to be true because you go right from the squid to the shark. But what you don't see the initial shot which would have had to have occurred while this "aggressive" shark were circling the pair. If there's a piece of footage that would exonerate him it would be that. That along with the angle of the supposed gill shot lead you to believe the shark was circling but likely just to investigate the pair and that the spearfisherman actually instigated the event.

CSI WP. LOL shall we bring out the laser pointers and dummy shark? SGSR?

It's funny how the negative reaction puts them on TV but yet no real journalist grilled them. Hey how come you didn't abort one by one with you protecting their back? Hey with your 60+ years experience, you didn't think to use the speargun to push off the shark and swim away back to the boat and call it a day? Hey are the shots of the killing of the shark in your catalog and video? Of course, if I had to shoot a catalog for a spearo firm, I'd put that ahead of the safety of my divers. It's a sign of weakness to run home. I am a real man! YEAH!

There's a shot of the guys holding the mouth open on shore where you see 5 spears through the head.

where abouts is this shot ? i could not find it. strange how there would be 5 shots through the head as in the video there are only 2 to the top of the head and one by the gills.

stew

What a load of crap, It's too bad guts and brains so rarely come in the same package.

Steve

All I can say are three words...WHAT A DICKHEAD......

All I can say are three words...WHAT A DICKHEAD......

I concur!!!!! These guys are seriously compensating for something!

Is the article in Outside magazine out yet or is it still coming? Would like to write a letter to them and just want to know when the article is out.

Thanks

Karen

The article is in the current issue of Outside on sale now. Its a very sad event. I know several spearfishermen and they are all pretty scared of sharks and in reality just do not seem to understand them the way we all do, since they do not interact with them in the water, sans bloody fish. Its only obvious if you have bloody fish attached to your body, sharks are going to come in close to inspect. I guess the ole saying is true...IF YOU CANT HANDLE THE HEAT STAY OUT OF THE KITCHEN, so if you cant handle sharks around you, don't spearfish in the ocean!