The Dorsal Fin

Artist, researcher, and conservationist Guy Harvey was recently featured on CNN. The video touches on the many aspects of Harvey’s work including his marine-life artwork and his conservation efforts. Harvey’s revolutionary no-kill Ultimate Shark Challenge tournament is also briefly discussed in the video feature.

Harvey has also recently launched the Save our Gulf campaign, in which proceeds from the sale of posters and t-shirts go directly to efforts to clean-up the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Check out CNN.com to read the full-article about Guy Harvey.

A relatively small white shark was killed on Friday during the Star Island Yacht Club Shark Tournament.

In a follow-up to today’s earlier post regarding internet rumors of a white shark being illegally caught and killed at the Star Island Yacht Club Shark Tournament, The East Hampton Press is reporting that a great white shark weighing between 300 and 400 lbs. (which would make it a relatively young white shark) was confiscated by the National Marine Fisheries Service after a participant in the Star Island Yacht Shark Tournament brought the shark in. (The great white shark has been a protected species in U.S. waters since 1997.) The article reports that the fisherman who caught the shark was neither fined nor arrested on the scene, according to Lesli Bales-Sherrod of the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement. However, he could face a civil charge at the conclusion of NOAA’s ongoing investigation of the event.

The East Hampton Press quoted Rich Janis, a manager of the shark tournament, as saying that the fisherman mistook the shark for another species. Janis went on to say that it was “an honest mistake” and noted that there was “no benefit” to the fisherman for bringing in the shark.

The information in the The East Hampton Press article is in stark contrast to the rumors that appeared on a few online angling forums, in which claims of an arrest, fines, boat seizure, and even a child endangerment charge were mentioned.

Was a great white shark illegally caught and killed at the Star Island Yacht Club shark tournament?

UPDATE: It seems that there is some truth to the rumors about a great white shark being killed during the Star Island Yacht Club Shark Tournament. However, claims of the arrest, boat seizure, and fines against the angler seem to be unfounded, according to a report from The East Hampton Press. Additionally, more forum members at Noreast.com have since posted refuting the claims that any action was taken against the anglers involved in the catching of the great white shark.

According to threads on The Hull Truth Boating Forum and Noreast.com a fisherman at the Star Island Yacht Club Shark Tournament in Montauk, NY illegally landed and brought a great white shark into the docks. The great white shark has been a protected species in U.S. waters since 1997.

According to a forum member at Noreast.com, who participated in the tournament, a fisherman not caught a white shark, announced over his radio that he caught it, and then brought it in to the docks. The forum member went on to say that the man who caught the great white shark, was arrested, his boat was seized, and he was fined $25,000, in addition to being charged with child endangerment for bringing the white shark on the boat with a 6-year-old child on-board.

It should be noted that all of this information comes from user-submitted discussion forums. I have been unable to find any news outlets reporting this story at the time of this writing. Hamptons.com has an article on the shark tournament, but there is no mention of a great white shark being brought to the docks, nor any mention of charges brought against any tournament participants.

Sharks lure a crowd, according to a recent article from the Pensacola News Journal about the “Outcast Mega Shark Tournament.” The article states that about a thousand “shark-crazed” fans attend the tournament to “see big sharks” among other reasons. Tournament director, Terry Holmes, says it’s the mystique associated with sharks that brings in the spectators…

“They’re dangerous. They eat people, and people like that.”

I’m hoping the part about people liking that sharks “eat people” was a misquote. It’s incredibly rare for a shark to eat a person. Even in the rare event of a shark attack on a human, a shark typically does not eat a person, nor would I expect other people to “like that” if they did.

The article also featured quotes from spectators who were there to see sharks “up close.” One spectator who witnessed the weigh-in of 399 lbs hammerhead was quoted as saying…

You know they’re out there in the waters, but you don’t ever really get to see them. They’re so magnificent, and you’re seeing ‘em up close.”

Now, just imagine if you saw them up-close…and they were still alive. They really do look much more magnificent when they’re swimming around, than they do when their carcass is hoisted up in the air by its tail. The reality of it is that it’s simply not easy for most people to witness sharks in their natural environment, and many people have underlying fears of snorkeling, diving, or swimming with sharks. Unfortunately, the most readily-accessible option for some “shark fans” to see sharks is at a shark-fishing tournament.