Humane Society Targets Shark Saturdays Sponsors

October 5, 2009

Release from: Kari C. Barlow
Northwest Florida Daily News

DESTIN — Members of the Humane Society of the United States have sent protest letters to the sponsors of Shark Saturdays during the 61st annual Destin Fishing Rodeo.

Their goal is to convince businesses to withdraw their names — and money — from the shark division.

“We hope it will (help),” said Gail Powell, a Humane Society member and grassroots organizer who lives in Santa Rosa Beach. “People have got to start realizing (that sharks are in trouble.) … We’re putting the pressure on.”

Every Saturday during the month-long Rodeo in October, anglers will have a chance to weigh in a shark. The fisherman with the largest shark takes home a $250 prize.

Shark Saturdays are an open category; there is no special entry fee for registered vessels. The shark must weigh at least 100 pounds to be eligible and only one per boat per day can be entered.

Lemon sharks, nurse sharks and any other shark protected by the state or federal government are not eligible. Sharks that are fair game include bull, mako, tiger and hammerhead.

But rodeo director Helen Donaldson said she does not expect to lose any sponsors, because Shark Saturdays are good for everyone in the local economy.

“We chose to do it because we’re trying to get more trips for our charter boats,” she said.

Donaldson said she plans to incorporate Shark Saturdays into the fishing rodeo next year and the year after that.

“As long as it’s legal to catch a shark in the Gulf of Mexico, there will be a shark division in the Destin Fishing Rodeo,” Donaldson said. “They can’t stop us.”

Humane Society members and supporters realize shark fishing is legal but say the practice is harmful to the health of the ocean. Their plan is to make the public aware of the dangers.

Powell said she and others plan to hand out brochures at the docks on the upcoming Saturdays in October.

She expects some resistance.

“The fishermen get mad and they yell at us because they don’t want to understand,” Powell said. “They don’t care about the eco-system. They see a dollar sign.”

Powell said the killing of sharks for a $250 prize is senseless and damaging to the ocean’s food chain.

“It’s pathetic,” she said. “They drag them in and hang them up on hooks. People just stand there gawking at it. It’s making a mockery of this magnificent animal.”

Donaldson said shark fishing is legal and simply makes sense in Destin. She said she does not understand why the Humane Society “targets our little tournament.”

The shark advocates argue that these add-on events at various fishing rodeos and tournaments have the power to significantly harm shark populations.

“Every year the status of these sharks — tiger sharks, makos and others — gets worse,” said John Grandy, senior vice president for wildlife protection with the Humane Society of the United States. “And communities are figuring this out.”

Grandy said he and others would like to see the Shark Saturdays become catch-and-release events.

“We would urge the citizens of Destin to demand this of their tournament,” he said.