Andrew is a post-doctoral researcher in North Carolina focused on population and conservation genetics in hydrothermal vent communities.
Image taken from the South Florida shark fishing club online forum. Photographer undisclosed. I have blocked out the angler's face to protect his identity
Update: The angler who originally caught the shark has responded. Please see below.
On February 5th, while standing on a beach in Miami, a fisherman caught a 14 foot great hammerhead shark. According to his account, ”we had it beached within an hour of hooking it. The fish weighed too much her girth was huge. Just the 2 of us wasn’t enough to get it out of the water….We snapped some pictures with our dying camera, measured it at 170 inches and spent the next hour walking back and forth with HER reviving her…it swam off slow and steady”
While this might appear to be a simple case of catch-and-release recreational fishing, it is not. My lab and I are supporters of sustainable catch and release fishing. However, it is important to note that since January 1, 2012, great hammerheads (an IUCN Red List Endangered species) have been a protected species in Florida state waters and have additional legal protections. The Florida code indicates that:
“(1) No person shall harvest, possess, land, purchase, sell, or exchange any or any part of these species:
…(k) Great hammerhead – Sphyrna mokarran.…(3) “Harvest” means the catching or taking of a marine organism by any means whatsoever, followed by a reduction of such organism to possession. Marine organisms that are caught but immediately returned to the water free, alive, and unharmed are not harvested”
…(5) “Land,” when used in connection with the harvest of marine organisms, means the physical act of bringing the harvested organism ashore” Florida code section 68B-44 (Emphasis mine)
In this incident, the shark was brought ashore. We can infer from the statement “the fish weighed too much her girth was huge. Just the 2 of us wasn’t enough to get it out of the water” that the fisherman attempted to pull it all the way out of the water, but was unable to do so (an important legal distinction) . Instead, he ended up beaching it, bringing it so far out that it could not move or breathe. The angler did not immediately release the animal. According to the angler’s account, it was measured and photographed prior to the attempt to resuscitate it. The shark was not released alive and unharmed. By the angler’s own admission, it took over an hour of resuscitation before the animal was able to even swim away slowly.
As Mike points out, there is a bit of ambiguity in this law concerning the words “landed” and “immediately”. Fortunately, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has a best practices guide that clarifies the laws. Though it only references tarpon and grouper, I have been assured by colleagues at the FWC that it is broadly applicable to all saltwater fishes.
“Fish must be immediately released for several reasons. For example, there is no allowable harvest of goliath grouper and Nassau grouper in Florida…..When a fish isn’t allowed to be harvested, it must immediately be returned to the water free, alive, and unharmed. However, if a fish is allowed to be taken at a certain size limit, it’s okay to temporarily possess it to measure it, as long as it is measured immediately after removing it from the water, and the fish is then immediately returned to the water free, alive, and unharmed if it is not a legal-size fish….It is okay to take a picture of a fish that is not allowed to be harvested while it’s in the process of being released, but it still must be let go immediately and should not be held in lengthy poses just for the purpose of taking the picture. And it is never legal to hold on to or tow a fish that is not allowed to be harvested to a place to weigh or measure it ” FWC Saltwater fish best practices guide. (emphasis mine)
It is not legal to hold on to a fish that’s not allowed to be harvested just to measure it, which is what happened in this case according to the angler’s account. It is legal to photograph a restricted species as it is being released, which should occur immediately, but it is not legal to hold onto it just to photograph it. The photos show the angler posing with his catch, not the process of releasing it.
A call for leniency
As Chuck Bangley points out, “a surf fisherman caught a large, endangered, legally protected shark but also followed the best release practices he was aware of and showed some respect for the animal…. [he] seems to rather like the fish he’s angling, and therefore not a big part of the problem with hammerhead conservation. This particular fisherman likely made an honest mistake and, while the violation of the law certainly needs to be addressed, I hope they don’t come down too hard on [him].”
Bangley makes a good point- the angler made a good faith effort to release the animal unharmed. Personally, I’m more interested in using this incident as a teaching opportunity to promote more sustainable fishing practices for the future than in demonizing a young fishermen who wasn’t aware of the current laws and followed the best practices of which he was aware.
In the first eleven pages of comments on the South Florida shark fishing club online forum about this hammerhead, no one pointed out that the great hammerhead is a protected species in Florida waters. Clearly, more education about this issue is needed.
Samantha Whitcraft of Shark Savers, an organization that helped get the new FWC hammerhead protections passed, agrees. “From what we understand from this particular case, the fishermen ‘tried’ to execute a live catch & release; unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the shark survived but it does mean there is potential for education on how to do it better, especially given that the new FWC rule that protects hammerheads in Florida waters calls for education on this very subject.”
A teachable moment
“Great hammerhead sharks are listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. They’ve suffered an estimated 80% population decline in the last 25 years. Their populations simply cannot sustain heavy fishing pressure. Large females, such as the one caught in this incident, are particularly critical if the population of great hammerheads is to recover,” said Dr. Neil Hammerschlag* , the Director of the University of Miami’s RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program.
According to Austin Gallagher*, a Ph.D. student in the RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program, “catch and release fishing relies upon the assumption that the captured fish survives when it is released.” Gallagher, a supporter of sustainable catch and release fishing who writes a column for Coastal Angler magazine, recently concluded a two year project focusing on how local species of sharks (including great hammerheads) respond to the stress of fishing and “fighting” a fisherman.
In his professional opinion, this great hammerhead shark did not survive this encounter. Gallagher said “You can tell that the animal is very rigid–almost like a rigor mortis. Hammerheads almost always stiffen up when they are dead or dying (moribund). The fact that it is listing to its side and rigid corroborates this. An animal can still swim away and die afterwards. We have seen this as well by using certain telemetry devices such as satellite transmitters that record post-release behavior….Walking an animal for a long period of time is indicative of the physiological consequences of stress. You may be able to get an animal swimming for a brief moment, but it certainly does not guarantee survival. This is a massive animal–the metabolic demands for even for basic swimming of a super predator are large, let alone after being angled and brought to shore for an extended period of time.”
According to Gallagher, “species, not individuals, show the most obvious differences with how they respond to stress. Hammerheads fight so rigorously that they become exhausted, their blood becomes acidic and loaded with carbon dioxide. Our data shows that this acts like a lethal cocktail for the animal.The hammerhead reacts so strongly to being hooked that the exercise of fighting becomes too much for the animal’s body to take. In this sense, the fight becomes anaerobic–fighting without proper oxygen. Hammerheads have very small mouths, which limits the amount of oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide release. At the same time, lactic acid builds up in the blood–a by-product of anaerobic exercise. We have measured disturbing concentrations of all of these parameters in hammerheads, even after fight times of less than 20 minutes. Mortality can happen in many ways–the animal can die of exhaustion minutes, days, and weeks after a release. But the animal can also become preyed upon by another shark that notices the change in swimming speed or behavior.”
Law enforcement’s reaction
We asked Melissa Recks, the FWC regional biologist for South Florida, for an official statement regarding this incident.
“Our division of law enforcement and our legal staff have reviewed this incident, and there’s not enough information in the pictures that a clear violation has occurred. Our educational staff is working on reaching out to shark anglers to clarify the best practices for handling prohibited species to ensure their survival,” she said.
Best practices
This incident likely resulted in the death of an endangered species. Future conservation-minded anglers who wish the ensure the survival of endangered great hammerheads should be aware that these animals absolutely cannot withstand a prolonged fight or being restrained for more than a few minutes. Fighting the animal to restrain it so that the hook can be removed is worse for the animal’s survival than merely cutting the line (which should be done as close to the hook as possible to minimize the amount of the line that the shark drags).
I politely and respectfully suggested this to the South Florida shark fishing club here, and the club’s President, William Fundora, replied:
“WE HAVE FIRST HAND EXPIERIENCE OVER 4 DECADES OF PRACTICING OUR SPORT AND NOT EVERY HAMMERHEAD WILL REACT THE SAME AFTER A PROLONGED FIGHT SOME WILL NEED WALKING AND RIGHTFULLY SO UNLESS YOU SUGGEST WE LET THE SHARK SINK AND DIE WHICH WOULD NOT BE GOOD POLICY FOR ANY FISH ANYWHERE.AGAIN WHEN WE FISH WE HAVE VERY LITTLE CONTROL AS TO WHAT SPECIES OF SHARK BITES OUR BAIT.WE OFTEN CATCH OTHER PROTECTED SPECIES….WE BELIEVE AND KNOW FROM OUR EXPIERIENCE THAT THE BEST RELEASE PRACTICE IS TO WALK AN EXHAUSTED SHARK UNTIL REGAINS IT’S STRENGTH AND SWIMS AWAY…YOU WANT SHARKS TO BE CUT LOOSE TO FLOUDER TO THE BOTTOM WIRE RIG AND STRONG LINE TRAILING AND YOU CALL “latest best practices” ??THINK WHAT YOU ARE SUGGESTING HERE DAVID.”
William, what I am suggesting is based on scientific data. Anglers, even experienced and conservation-minded anglers, can’t know what happens to the sharks after is swims away, and to assume that an animal survived because it swam away is not supported by scientific data.
Scientists can (and in many cases, do) know what happens to a shark after it swims away, thanks to telemetry data and stress physiology research. After a prolonged fight, great hammerhead sharks typically do not survive for long, even if they swim away. They don’t recover from stress as well as other shark species on a physiological level.
Walking the sharks to resuscitate is slightly better than “letting them sink” (which is not at all what I, or anyone else, suggested), as this process very slightly improves their ability to survive, at least in the short term. However, it is far better not to fight them for so long that they need to be resuscitated in the first place. As soon as you identify the animal on the other end of your line as a scalloped or great hammerhead shark, cut the line with as little line attached to the shark as possible. This will maximize the shark’s chance of survival. Also, it’s not just me saying this. The FWC best practices guide makes the exact same point:
“Anglers should also use common sense when releasing fish. Sometimes it’s better to safely handle a fish to carefully remove the hook so it can be released, and other times it’s best to cut the line as close to the hook as possible while the fish is in the water – especially if it’s large or agitated” (emphasis mine). Note that great hammerheads are both large and agitated.
Although the angler followed the best methods he was aware of and demonstrated a good-faith effort to respect the ocean and its creatures, by not following established best practices, a rare adult female member of an endangered species almost certainly died. This is a problem in of itself, and it has the potential to become a much bigger problem if not corrected.
I have invited members of the South Florida shark fishing club, fisheries managers, conservationists, and shark scientists to discuss this incident on this blog post. We all want the same thing, we all want there to be lots of fish (including sharks) in the ocean for a long time. It is my sincere hope that this incident, rather than turning into a shouting match between conservationists and anglers, can become a point of discussion about best practices for future sustainable use of marine resources. I also hope that it will draw attention to the rarely discussed practice of land-based shark fishing.
*As regular readers know, I am also a Ph.D. student in the RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program. Dr. Neil Hammerschlag is my major adviser, and Austin Gallagher is a senior graduate student in my lab. We believe that fishermen have the right to fish, but that fishing should be done in a sustainable manner. Much of our research aims to better inform anglers so that they can continue to enjoy their sport while having a smaller impact on the marine environment.
Response from the Angler who caught the shark:
I would first like to address the author of this article. It is titled “Florida angler catches (and likely kills) Endangered great hammerhead shark”
… your addition of the words within the parenthesis automatically sets in a tone of bias towards one set of views and against me which I feel slightly threatened. The pen is mightier than the sword and a great speaker has the ability to sway public opinion whether it be good or bad.
The author also states “The shark was not released alive and unharmed. By the angler’s own admission, it took over an hour of resuscitation before the animal was able to even swim away slowly.” Again there is total bias and a wave of negativity thrown upon me (an angler whom which put in vigorous efforts in the release of such a magnificent creature).
In more specific details: I wrote in a different post about the efforts it took me and my friend to release this fish. I quote myself: “That shark was an intelligent creature and more than likely older than myself. I tend to respect my elders and help them out to the best of my abilities. I could tell that this shark was aching and was trying to curl up into a C shape in order to stretch and that it was under a load of stress. Dan and I worked quickly to photograph, clip away as much of the rigging as possible, and get the shark back into the water flow. The tide was incoming so we started by walking the shark against the tide which helped the flow of water throughout its gills. We repeated a few laps of walking back and forth with the shark. Our backs were severely aching from the sheer weight of this fish. Dan reminded me that from the extensive fight the shark had probably built up a ton of lactic acid within its muscles; so the second part of my plan was to get those muscles moving as best as I could, I held the shark by the hammer-like structure being careful not to poke it in the eye and I swayed its head back and forth, un-stiffening muscles and getting even more water flowing throughout the gills. Dan was responsibly swaying its tail and tail-end of the sharks body to also help release lactic acid and stiffness. The shark broke free from us 3-times but we quickly retrieved it and continued the walking process because I did not feel the animal was strong enough to survive at the moment. We ran into several spotted eagle rays and southern stingrays in the process (one of which I came within inches of stepping on… so please don’t tell me this process was not harmful to me.)”
Commenting on this remark: “It is not legal to hold on to a fish that’s not allowed to be harvested just to measure it, which is what happened in this case according to the angler’s account.” Of course I wanted a picture because that is my passion (to catch, photograph, and release big fish) and of course I measured it and did so speedily. There is nothing illegal about measuring a fish, please read the laws on harvesting snook, snapper, grouper, and other such fish which must be measured and is encouraged to send in data to the FWC for their studies. Also scientists that catch, tag, and release sharks “hold on to a fish that’s not allowed to be harvested” and they do measure it.
In “A call for leniency” I thank the author and Chuck Bangley for the needed support and seeing the situations more or less in my own shoes.
In “A teachable moment” I would like to say and think that I am not the heavy fishing pressure on the hammerhead population, I have only caught one in my entire life and I ensured its survival. I hope this “heavy fishing pressure” is referring to the legal and illegal long-line fishermen and I hope that that shady business can be ended completely.
To Austin Gallagher: You have made an educated response based upon the best of your knowledge and it is true that this fish was under a high level of stress, but I would like to point out that your statement about “Hammerheads have very small mouths, which limits the amount of oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide release” is not entirely accurate because most sharks do not actually use their mouths for breathing because they can get their oxygen with their mouths closed. Sharks flush water over their gills which is on the externals of the shark so the size of their mouth has little to nothing to do with their ability to breath.
Towards the people who have commented on this blog, I see different sides and I thank the people that understood that I am trying to conserve sharks and protect shark fishing rights and I tried my best and I am completely positive that that shark is swimming around at this very moment. To the other people who commented completely against me, that is your opinion but I believe your opinion may have changed if you were there to witness my situation and I hope that you could make the same decisions as I did rather than cutting the line, many yards away when we realized it was a hammerhead which was exhausted and in shallow water and probably would have had no chance of swimming away on its own, I chose to take the extra 5-10 minutes to bring this shark close enough to get as much of my rigging off of this shark without harming it and getting it into the current and assisting it in swimming, breathing, and relieving it of lactic acid build up so it had the chance to make a full recovery and break free from my iron grip and swim off steadily with what I believed was the certainty of its survival.
Thanks for sharing this informative piece. While I certainly agree with the premise of the article that all attempts should be made to quickly release protected species such as hammerhead sharks (as well as other catch and release species), I didn’t find the explanation for an alternative method of handling this situation very satisfactory. What should the angler have done? Should he have walked out into knee-deep, thigh deep, chest deep water to cut the line as close to the hook as possible? Wouldn’t he have endangered himself in the process? Also, if he had cut the line with 10-30 or more feet of trailing line, would that have been better than hauling it into shallow water and completely removing the hook? How close should he have gotten to the shark before cutting the line? I believe a bit more explanation is needed if we want people to employ best practices for catch and release shark fishing in the future. I’m not trying to shoot down the premise of the article, just searching for the obvious need for more information and guidance.
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Fighting a great hammerhead shark for this long is significantly worse for it’s long-term survival than having it swim away after a few minutes of fight with a long bit of line attached. You should try to minimize the amount of line dragged as much as possible, but fighting a great hammerhead for this long almost guarantees that it will die.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I think part of the problem, and certainly the motivation behind William’s rather dismissive (and, frankly, arrogant) response is that anglers exclusively interact with fish at the extremes of their behavior. They’re handling sharks after long fights, pulling them up to the surface, and causing difficult-to-quantify impacts on their physiology. When fish are caught, fought, and brought out of the water, all the behaviors that follow are profoundly abnormal, yet if this is your only interaction with fish, you would think that these are completely normal. It’s like creating a baseline for human society based exclusively on interviews with people who think they’ve been abducted by aliens.
The fact is that scientists who study sharks, even graduate students, have spent far more time observing sharks under natural conditions, and do, in fact, have a better grasp of what is normal shark behavior, what is stressed shark behavior, and what behavior indicates a shark is on the verge of death.
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Chris, The angler knew they had a hammerhead on the line when it crested 50 yards out. At that point he should have immediately cut the line. Or better yet pick a shark enthusiast hobby that doesn’t involve stressing them to near death. While others may be kinder on the subject. I am not. The cro-magnon desires satiated by the mock/trophy hunting of an animal garners only disdain from me.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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If that’s the case then I’d agree, line should have been cut.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Thanks for starting this timely dialogue. It’s important to note that, while great and scalloped hammerhead sharks have been classified as Endangered by IUCN, these species are not (yet) listed under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA). The federal government is currently considering an ESA listing petition for the scalloped hammerhead. At the same time, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is developing over the coming months options under the federal Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) management plan to better protect hammerheads taken in coastal fisheries (NMFS recently prohibited Atlantic pelagic fishermen from retaining hammerheads, as a result of action by the International Commission for Conservation of Atlantic Tunas). Hammerheads’ tendency to get stressed and die exceptionally quickly after capture poses special conservation challenges, as prohibitions alone will likely not amount to sufficient protection. Research into means for maximizing hammerhead post release survival is critical to hammerhead conservation efforts in the US and elsewhere. The HMS management process offers regular opportunities for input from concerned stakeholders. Please share findings and ideas with the HMS advisory panel this year as we try to help NMFS focus on and finalize new, effective hammerhead safeguards.
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One of the biggest problems I have with angling for sharks (and I’ve been fishing since my second birthday), is that many anglers don’t have a good enough understanding of shark physiology to determine best practices for the species. The first step in my mind is always education: even the basics into stress-induced anaerobic fighting.
One thing that bothers me is seeing the anglers standing next to a live hammerhead and clearly stopping what they were doing for pictures. Hammerheads do not have a spiracle, so like bony fish and some shark species (nurse sharks, bamboo sharks) cannot breathe without moving. By stopping for photos, they were essentially suffocating the shark after forcing excess CO2 into its blood with anaerobic fighting.
I agree that the line should have been cut, but in the case where the line doesn’t get cut, promoting a quick aerobic recovery for these sharks will help preserve the species much better than bringing it to the brink of death and expecting it to be able to recover after being released.
Chris, hammerheads are one of the most docile large species or sharks. They have very small mouths, and possess very little danger to humans.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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The angler caught the fish on a hook. How could he know an endangered shark would take his bait? After the fact, he acted in the best way he knew.
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Ron, the issue isn’t that the shark was caught, the issue is what happened after it was caught.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Ron, anytime someone goes fishing, it is important to know not only what is likely to take your bait, but the best way to respond when they do: that includes simple things like limits (both in fish size and quantity), release procedures, and which species are protected. It is the anglers responsibility to know this information, and as these anglers knew what was on their line from 50 yards out, it was clear that there was plenty of time to focus on best practices.
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If this were a panda, anyone who messed with it would risk execution at the hands of the state (of China). This strong and drastic stance by the govt made for a quickly navigated learning curve for all would-be Chinese poachers. Perhaps this is why pandas are the only remaining native bear species in the country and are virtually untouched by the bear bile industry, of which China is the world’s most voracious consumer.
Now, I am not saying our Florida fisherfriends should suffer the same fate. But I would advocate a stricter tough-love approach. The IUCN has spoken; this fish needs to be protected from those who might harm it, however well meaning.
And BTW, I’m not much for BBQ.
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But you read the comments policy, and that means the world to us!
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Southern Fried Science,
I am proudly involved with the SFSC and have met this angler personally on a few occasions. He has spent MANY hours shark fishing and knows the limit of these fish quite well. He has probably spent more time with these fish than most of the people in this article. He never pulled it fully out of the water, and kept it in deeper water, because he knew not to hurt it. I feel that this very smart, deserving, and experienced young angler was portrayed very wrong here.
You also left out that while he was reviving the fish, he was moving the muscles of the fish to relieve it of lactic acid. This is a very common thing to do, whether its a little snook or a 14′ hammer. Many boats in big-money marlin tournaments do this on their trophy marlin.
Yet another factor in this is that the shark did not fight very hard for being as big as it was. Fighting only for an hour isn’t very long, compared to many other battles with these fish. People have fought fish for hours on end, just to break the line. The angler said it stripped off 400yds. of line, that is almost nothing for one of these fish. On more then one occasion, these fish have taken 6, or 700yds. of line, under more drag. So, this fish wasn’t in too bad of a condition after a relatively short fight.
Not to mention all of the countless sharks that have been caught, tagged, and released, using the same (if not worse) technique. For all of the many, many sharks that are caught off of the beach, the much greater majority of them swim off un-harmed. On more than one occasion, a fish has been caught, tagged by NMFS, released, (all from the beach) only to be caught later in near perfect physical condition.
All in all, I think the best techniques were used in the catch, and release of this great shark, by a very experienced angler, ultimately leaving it unharmed.
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Hi Kevin,
Thank you for your comments. Firstly, it does no one any good to compare how much experience someone has over the next. I agree that to learn the species, it is important to spend time with them–that is why we spend over 100 years a day on the water doing research and interacting with these species. We also work with recreational fishermen throughout the keys as well. The article clearly presents both sides of the story, and does not demonize the angler at all..in fact it commends him for his efforts of revival.
It is excellent that you make an effort to rid the animals of lactic acid and other by-products of stress. However, simply using such terms to justify stressful fishing practices is not responsible. I would be more than happy to discuss the specific physiological consequences of fishing stress with any interested parties, as it goes alot deeper than lactic acid buildup. Furthermore, you mention that this is common practice for “Many boats in big-money marlin tournaments.” This may be true for fishing from BOATS, but when angling from shore and onto shore it introduces an entirely stressors that are different (and arguably more extreme) than boat fishing.
Fighting for an hour may not be a long time for all species, but I think you missed the point of our discussion–scientific data shows that hammerheads are highly unlikely to survive fights of over an hour. Thus, it was too long.
Lastly, unless you follow the animal or track it with transmitters, there is absolutely no way to determine if the shark survived in the short-term after you release it. Conventional tags can be useful only if you recapture the animal. Since the 1950′s, NMFS has conventional tagged over 200,000 sharks and the average recapture rate ranges from 1-10%. This is not a significant number to make any claims of survival.
The angler may have been experienced–our goal is that all can learn from this event and increase their knowledge. After all, we want to be able to see them for years to come.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Hey Austin – perhaps you could post a graph of some of the data showing the effect of stress on large hammerheads. As I posted in my comment, simply stating it as true can be off putting to some people (think the global climate change debate). Obviously in our field we know where to go to find the latest research and data, and we actively seek it. The average person does not always know where/when to look for it. Of course I am not trying to bash you here, rather just suggesting a way that might make the point a bit more clear/easy to understand.
As an aside, perhaps it would be possible (and you may already be addressing this) to try to work and get some SPOT tags (or even a less expensive sat tag) on a few hammers caught from shore?
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Kevin, thank you for commenting- I am pleased that members of the SFSFC have joined in the discussion.
” He never pulled it fully out of the water, and kept it in deeper water, because he knew not to hurt it”
The angler’s good intentions were never in doubt here, but the photos clearly show the animal in extremely shallow water.
“Yet another factor in this is that the shark did not fight very hard for being as big as it was. Fighting only for an hour isn’t very long, compared to many other battles with these fish. People have fought fish for hours on end”
Different species react differently. Austin’s data shows that after fights as short as 20 minutes, however, great hammerheads are so highly stressed that they can (and often do) die. This fight was much longer than 20 minutes, and the shark’s behavior, as described by the angler and shown in the photos, is consistent with a great hammerhead on the brink of death from stress and exhaustion.
“All in all, I think the best techniques were used in the catch, and release of this great shark… ultimately leaving it unharmed.”
The FWC best practices guide disagrees with your assessment, and our data supports the best practices guide. In Austin’s expert opinion, based on years of working on the specific research question of “how does fighting fishing gear affect the survival of an animal”, this great hammerhead did not survive.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I have to second what Sonya said. Although Great Hammerheads are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, here in the US they have not been afforded that protection (YET). As someone that does research on sharks seeing this is not easy, but as a fisherman I also can relate to some extent. Obviously, the idea of catch and release works in theory for all species, but for many species it is not easy…in particular, many shark species.
As an angler, I know that I can not predict (though I have an idea given the type of fishing I am doing) what will bite the hook when I cast/drop my line (with a few exceptions, like sight-fishing). But as an angler, I also am aware that when I fish there is the chance I could catch a species I can not keep/havest/land etc. and I make sure that I am prepared and ready to deal with that when it occurs. Without having met the fisherman that caught this shark, I do believe that angler was not purposely trying to cause harm to the shark. The fishing club has been doing this for a while, and they are quite confident in their techniques.
From a scientists view point though, it seems that even though the angler took care to minimize harm, that he could have done more. This is where education comes in on our part. We need to help anglers to adapt their techniques and learn how to adjust them as needed. Just saying that they didn’t do enough, or could have done more is not enough. Also, pointing out that research shows these animals don’t respond well is not enough…we should present the information for them to see, and if possible demonstrate this. As scientists, we don’t just accept it when others say “oh well research shows,” we want to see the results for ourselves (hence the whole peer-reviewed journal process, conferences, etc.). And we should do this in a way that does not turn off the lay-person to the research. Too often we see people doubting science because it is not explained well, or they think it is being forced on them, so this should be taken into account.
As more regulations keep changing, we need to work to educate the public on these changes. Not only to help them learn how they can change with them, but also to help them understand the regulations. We also can’t let these rare instances like this taint our view of those anglers that do their part and we can’t let this cause knee jerk reactions to propose crazy regulations either (i.e. the proposed, but thankfully not accepted, total area closure to protect red snapper Ammendment 17A).
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I’m a land based fisherman. I’ve been fishing in Palm Beach County for 19 years. My family has been fishing here in Florida since the 1800′s. I respect the ocean and structures I fish off of like they were part of my family. I always leave the area where I fish cleaner than it was when I got there. I always bring a bucket or 35 gallon trash bag and fill it with trash before I leave the area I’m fishing. I’ve saved hundreds of baby turtles trapped in rocks at low tide getting beat up in the rocks. Anything to help out the ocean. I want my children to be able to enjoy the ocean as much as I have growing up in South Florida. If I am fishing and clearly see it is a protected fish that is in coming close to my bait. I reel my bait in to prevent from hooking the fish. Sometimes it is too rough and dirty water and you cannot always prevent this. But getting the hook out and reviving the fish is sometimes necessary to make sure the fish swims off fine. Sometimes this can take up to an hour to see a large fish swim off. Being a land based fisherman and taking the time to revive the fish can put yourself in extreme danger and risky situations. I’ve risked my life reviving fish in chest high dirty rough water just to know I did everything I could to revive the fish so it could swim off strong. I tell all my friends to do the same thing. It’s a huge risk having a family and caring about a fish this way. I watched my father and grandfather do this and I’ve been practicing the same methods that they have showed me, and it has worked for the last hundred years. I know the fisherman that caught this shark did everything they posibly could do, including risking his life to ensure this shark swam off strong. I wish the best for both sides and hope everyone gets along. I love the ocean it’s a huge part of my live and childrens life. I will always be practicing safe and smart fishing to educate friends,family and the public.
I would love to see both sides working togeather.
I would purchase tracking tags every year to track different types of fish. This would help out to see the migration of fish during the years.
Working togeather would help educate everyone on the fish in our ocean.
Thanks,
JimmyLevelWind
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Thanks for your comment, Jimmy. I am glad to see a stated desire on both sides to work together for the benefit of the animals we all care about.
No one doubts your desire (and that of Mark) to see the sharks you catch swim off safely.
“But getting the hook out and reviving the fish is sometimes necessary to make sure the fish swims off fine…”
It isn’t necessary to revive the fish if you don’t stress it out so much that it needs to be revived. The FWC best practices guide clearly states that cutting the line before a prolonged fight is the best option for certain species.
” I watched my father and grandfather do this and I’ve been practicing the same methods that they have showed me, and it has worked for the last hundred years”
It’s really great that such a strong passion for the ocean has been passed down in your family (in my case, it skipped a generation from my grandfather to me). However, just because a certain method is commonly used doesn’t mean it’s the best method. The point that we’ve been making is that after a shark swims away, an angler has no way of telling if it survived (unless it is marked and recaptured, which hardly ever happens), even if that angler is extremely experienced and cares a great deal about the ocean. Austin’s research clearly shows that great hammerhead sharks can (and often do) die from stress and exhaustion even after they swim away.
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Well said Jimmy. I was there on the day this fish was caught and I can assure all those who are casting doubt on the way that the fish was handled that every effort (well-informed and based on years of knowledge and good practice) was made, to assure that the fish was released unharmed. To our best knowledge no violation of current law occurred. At no point was the fish grounded or taken from the water. The gills remained covered at all times and as we were both aware that these fish are ram-ventilators and need to be moving forward to take oxygen we kept the fish moving up and down the beach while we helped it regain its strength, moving its tail back and forth to help release cramping or lactic acid built up during the fight. The fish was actually brought to the beach extremely quickly considering its enormous size and took very little line compared to most sharks of this species. The pictures we took were taken very quickly (evidenced by the shaky nature of the shots!) as we were far more concerned with the well-being of the fish. I speak for the vast majority of land based shark anglers when I say that we have the utmost respect for these great fish and make their survival after capture our priority. We both risked injury and went to extreme lengths and almost total exhaustion to walk that fish for around an hour to give it every chance of survival and it swam away strongly. If we had ‘cut the line’ as suggested above, this fish may well have sunk to the bottom and never moved again. If we had cut the line while it was still a hundred yards away it would have been left trailing a long length of extremely strong line around, which would likely have become entangled in a reef, bridge or buoy and restricted the shark’s movement or trapped it, likely killing it. I do not feel that we could have handled the capture of this fish any better and I believe all our decisions were sound and complied with current laws.
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Thanks for joining in the discussion. The perspective of someone who witnessed this catch is extremely valuable, and I’m glad that you share our respect for the ocean and its creatures.
“If we had cut the line while it was still a hundred yards away it would have been left trailing a long length of extremely strong line around, which would likely have become entangled in a reef, bridge or buoy and restricted the shark’s movement or trapped it, likely killing it”
To the best of my knowledge, there is no evidence of something like this ever happening (please correct me if I’m incorrect).
Scientific data clearly shows that after even relatively short fights (much, much shorter than what occurred here)great hammerheads build up enough CO2 and lactic in their muscles that they rarely survive, even if they swim away. While dragging a long length of line isn’t ideal, it’s almost certainly preferable to an hour-long fight.
The FWC best practices guide states that for some species, cutting the line is preferable to fighting it long enough that anglers can remove the hook. Austin’s data supports that recommendation for hammerhead sharks.
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“To the best of my knowledge, there is no evidence of something like this ever happening (please correct me if I’m incorrect).”
I know of three cases of this happening personally. I have seen a tarpon tangled up (floating and dead) to a dock with heavy monofilament line. I have saved a very small snook that was stuck on a rock with a long trail of line hanging out of its mouth attached to a hook.
Lastly, an estimated 9ft bull shark in the Florida Keys became entangled on heavy fishing leader and a lobster trap bouy (the buoy used to identify to the crab and lobster trappers where there traps were laid long ago). This happened all before my eyes one morning as the angler hooked the fish and could no longer move it and the shark could no longer pull out line. This angler knew that the shark was still alive and made the judgement to leave the shark on the line for a short time until there was enough daylight for him to go out on the kayak and attempt to rescue the shark. He was not strong enough to free the shark from the kayak so he decided to clip an even heavier line to his leader and pull the shark into shallower water to help save it. This was not the outcome though; as the angler attempted to bring the shark in the heavier line that he attached to his lighter rigging broke the lighter rigging very close to the hook and we watched as the shark swam off strong.
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Thanks for providing examples, Mark. In my experience in and around the water, I hadn’t heard of something like this happening. In your experience in and around the water, you’ve encountered it only three times.
Can we agree that it can happen, but it’s extremely rare?
Obviously having a long length of line trailing isn’t ideal, and it can sometimes/rarely lead to entanglement. However, an extended fight will almost always lead to stressing out the hammerhead so much that it will likely not survive even if it is resuscitated and swims away.
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I don’t agree with the rareness for the same reasons you agree with it. The reasons for this being rare is because an ethical fisherman does not litter up the sea with 100′s of yards of their fishing line and it is extremely rare that a fishermen will let a fish go with a ton of line trailing behind it. If everyone were to begin doing this then rest assure the opportunities for ensnared sharks may indeed increase exponentially.
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I’m a scuba diver (Assistant Instructor for 3 years – no desire to be an instructor), an underwater photographer, studied sharks a bit over the years (played with & photographed a few different species), and I’m an occasional fisherman (though not for sharks, I have caught a few over the years, on accident… and released them back). I’m all for education & advocation of a topic, especially the topic of sharks. HOWEVER, I’m totally against any punishment to ‘this’ fisherman – in ‘this’ instance, and frankly find it interesting and somewhat disconcerting that so many people jump to so many conclusions with this situation, this fisherman’s description and time line, and evidence at hand. THAT IS SAD!
a) unless I missed something in my shark studies, there is no physical way to tell if this is a male or female without seeing it’s underside… unless someone checked for the presence or absence of claspers. So, it’s tough to trust or respect anyone that intentionally assumed this is definitely one sex or the other. If there is another way that I’m ignorant to, please feel free to educate me. But these people ‘pounding’ the pity button claiming this is a female really needs to explain why they know that – or shut up about the sex of THAT SHARK! Seriously, stick to the facts, don’t invent crap! I do think, because of the size of the body and shape of the head (which can be seen in the photo) it’s reasonable to assume it’s an adult; but sexing it is nonsense, and a lame attempt to play on emotions.
b) there is no information as to HOW the shark was hooked… whether the hook might have impaired it’s eating or not. Much less what type of hook, size or material wise… or the location of the ‘hook’ – or, for that matter, the type of line used. Stainless steel leader… and or braided line realistically should be removed. A stainless hook won’t just ‘rust away’ – so, location & size are very potentially important. Though, honestly, if I accidentally hooked one that size, I’m pretty doubtful my hand would be too dang close to the mouth (unless I could cover the eyes, and knew I could move unencumbered, and even then I’d have to seriously think about it). So, while clipping the line and setting it free might have been the easy choice, it may not have been the best choice. And NO ONE in the article addressed any of that. We can only assume what happened with the hook & line – where & how the shark was hooked, and on what. Those variables are potentially important, don’t you think? I’m personally not worries about the shark healing, but the potential of the hook impairing it’s ability to eat. That is an unknown.
c) the story indicated that the fishermen tried to pick it up… maybe just for a photo, maybe to try to carry it home (to feed their family) if they didn’t previously know it was illegal to keep. Writers assuming why they tried picking up that shark is IMHO nearly as ignorant as attempting to pick up a LIVE shark that size to begin with! So, I’m guessing, that either the fish was really wore out from the fight (oxidative stress & acidosis)… or the fishermen really had a low IQ (or walked bull legged). I’m leaning toward the stressed & tired shark.
d) walking the shark, back & forth IN THE WATER, until it was able to ‘swim off’ under it’s own power is EXACTLY what the fishermen should have done. The term ‘slowly’ is one I find interesting, as fish over 10′ in length – especially adult sharks – are normally ‘slow’ (and easy) swimmers, and usually don’t expend large amounts of energy, unless they are feeding or fleeing. So, personally, I find it interesting & amazing that all these people made any type of issue out of the ‘slow take off’ – I’ve personally witnessed many large fish (that were tagged, or just caught to be released) swim off slowly. And, I’ve seen a few that took upwards of what seemed ‘forever’ at the time… BECAUSE I was tired, they had teeth, and the adrenaline rush has subsided; but in reality it was just a few minutes. In general, the longer & more stressful the fight, the longer it takes to safely return them to the wild. Seriously, I’d have been more concerned about the sharks survival had the fisherman pushed it ‘off’ (back out to sea) in 5 minutes or so, after that long and stressful of a battle.
Anyhow, it’s really AWESOME that awareness is being gathered, AND that one of the posters in this thread happened to know the fisherman. Personally, I think the fisherman did the right thing & the best thing, and using THIS CASE as an example or reason for stiffer regulation or more laws is ignorant at best, and very misinformed and unaware at worst.
Sincerely,
Terry Mercer
Just a no one with a little information, an opinion, and only ONE VOTE!
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The angler stated in his original post that the hook was not stainless and would rust out.
Slow smoked pulled pork.
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Terry, I’m a little confused by your comments. You accuse us of making unreasonable assumptions, but this post isn’t about assumptions at all.
” unless I missed something in my shark studies, there is no physical way to tell if this is a male or female without seeing it’s underside… unless someone checked for the presence or absence of claspers”
Right… this was done. What’s your point?
“there is no information as to HOW the shark was hooked”
Right, and this is also not relevant at all. The entire point is that a prolonged fight is much worse for the long-term survival of a great hammerhead shark than cutting the line before it becomes overly stressed and can’t recover.
” the story indicated that the fishermen tried to pick it up… maybe just for a photo, maybe to try to carry it home (to feed their family) if they didn’t previously know it was illegal to keep. Writers assuming why they tried picking up that shark is IMHO nearly as ignorant ”
It doesn’t matter, at all, why the angler tried to pick it up out of the water (which, fortunately for the angler, was impossible due to the shark’s weight). It is illegal to land great hammerheads. The FWC best practices guide specifically states that it isn’t legal to hold onto them just for a photo.
” walking the shark, back & forth IN THE WATER, until it was able to ‘swim off’ under it’s own power is EXACTLY what the fishermen should have done.”
No, it is not. What the FWC best practices guide explicitly states, and years of scientific research corroborates, is that what the fishermen should have done is cut the line BEFORE the shark was so stressed out that it needed to be walked back and forth in the water. Great hammerhead sharks do not often recover once they are stressed past a certain point, and often die even after they swim away.
“Seriously, I’d have been more concerned about the sharks survival had the fisherman pushed it ‘off’ (back out to sea) in 5 minutes or so, after that long and stressful of a battle”
Terry, the whole point is to avoid “that long and stressful of a battle” in the first place.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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The angler identified it as female in his description of the incident.
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To Terry. When the shark was on its side I did quickly check out its features and it was indeed absent of claspers, it had some scars, and even a full row of teeth marks on its hammer-like structure that had long ago healed and just looked like a scar. I did use and have always used “rust-away” hooks because they are cheap and better for the environment and the sharks. I personally have nowhere close to the ability to pick-up 900-1000lbs of weight and had no intention of harvesting this shark even if there were no laws against it. I do agree with you on your final statement and instead of the anglers and scientist constantly posing up the same arguments they should work together until there is nothing to argue between them.
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“These guys need to get out there and experience it themselves before they start accusing others of doing something wrong ”
Not that it is in any way relevant to this discussion, but Austin and I are in the field essentially every weekend working with large sharks. We both have years of experience interacting with sharks in the wild.
“he released the shark and it swam away. How hard is that to understand? Tarpon fisherman revive tarpon next to their boats all the time”
Swimming away does not mean it survived. An angler, even one with years of experience, cannot possibly know what happens to a shark once it swims away. Austin’s two-year-long research project demonstrated that great hammerhead sharks stress out more easily than other shark species, and recover less often. Tarpon are a completely separate issue. Our entire point is that what works for one species doesn’t work for another.
“Mark caught this shark properly”
Not according to the FWC best practices guide, which says that “it is never legal to hold on to or tow a fish that is not allowed to be harvested to a place to weigh or measure it”. Great hammerheads are not allowed to be harvested, therefore it is not legal to hold onto it to measure it. It should have been released immediately- BEFORE reviving it was necessary.
“[Mark] worked extremely hard to release it”
Granted, but if the FWC best practice guide was followed, he wouldn’t have had to.
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You do not know what it takes to receive a degree in a marine biology field. Their ‘lab’ is the sea and they spend more time out there gathering precise information about the environment and species that inhabit it then you will likely do in you entire life. YOU need to realize that your ad-hominem experiences as an angler do not give you the education or clairvoyance to make a well reasoned argument capable of withstanding the rigors of science. Your disrespect for those intelligent, talented, and devoted people who have devoted there LIFE to understanding our marine and aquatic systems is not only profoundly ignorant but dangerous. Your ignorance is not equivalent to their knowledge so shut up and listen.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Well said David and Jason. Careful reading will answer all of the question you have related to field experience.
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Any angler who isn’t interested in improving their technique and the survival rate of animals they catch and release doesn’t deserve a fishing license.
It’s ridiculous and counterproductive to claim that scientists “don’t know the first thing about sharks in the wild”. That’s their JOB. To learn (and know) stuff about sharks in the wild. They use satellite tags and acoustic transmitters and all this other crap to study this stuff. If great hammerheads die from being caught, and if their data (which I would love to see) proves that it’s better for the shark to cut the line, I would rather know that.
The fact that you’ve caught a bunch of sharks doesn’t mean you know anything about what happens to them after you release them.
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Here is a brief presentation of some of the research being done on the issue. link to symposia.cbc.amnh.org
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In that talk he tells you that in a catch and release study with satellite tags and hammerhead sharks %40 of the sharks did not survive after swimming away.
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I am quite appalled on how you went about writing this article. Many times in your article you state that you want his to bea “A teachable moment” and you “have no interest in demonizing someone” but yet the only thing you have done to prevent “demonizing someone” is keeping their name and face out.
I believe you have done this through many assumptions you made in your article beggining with your title “Florida angler catches (and likely kills) Endangered great hammerhead shark”. This assumption of course was made by yourself who has never to my knowledge actually been able to study a large hammerhead shark after catch and release with or without satellite tags. Another huge assumption you made in your article that bothers me and many others have pointed out was that this shark was a female and again that it died “a rare adult female member of an endangered species almost certainly died.”. From the pictures I have seen there is no way the this shark could have been identified female or male.
I humbly disagree with the idea of cutting 50 yds of line after 50 mins of a fight. I believe that if you are able to gain line on a fish of this size to get it 50 yds from shore the fish has alreayd expended its energy. To cut the line without reviving at this point would not be the best for the life of the fish. We can only attempt to use the best of our knowledge to ensure the life of these magnificant creatures.
The young man should be congratulated on his catch and release of this beautiful creature not belittled on how somebody “thinks” what would have lead to a better outcome for the shark.
I believe more needs to be done on the scientific end to get satellite tags in the hands of experienced anglers. But from what I have heard funding has gone down with many of these programs and it is hard enoguh to get a normal tag now adays.
Smoked North Carolina Style Pulled Pork
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Enjoyed link to symposia.cbc.amnh.org what information did he have on which hammerheads ended up dieing (size, fight time etc.).
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*facepalm*
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The slides labeled “results: blood work” and “results: post release survival”, looking at those results, Austin, it looks like, for great hammers, even 20 minutes of fighting is too long, and at 60 minutes you’re looking at an uptick in CO2 build-up from respiratory failure.
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“This assumption of course was made by yourself who has never to my knowledge actually been able to study a large hammerhead shark after catch and release with or without satellite tags.”
Incorrect. He consulted an expert in this very area that has done studies on hammerheads with satellite tags. For more information on this look at the link I posted DIRECTLY ABOVE YOURS.
“I humbly disagree with the idea of cutting 50 yds of line after 50 mins of a fight. I believe that if you are able to gain line on a fish of this size to get it 50 yds from shore the fish has alreay expended its energy.”
To use your own argument: “This assumption of course was made by yourself who has never to my knowledge actually been able to study a large hammerhead shark after catch and release with or without satellite tags.” Nor, to my knowledge, have you ever collected extensive physiological data regarding hammerhead shark stressors.
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“I believe more needs to be done on the scientific end to get satellite tags in the hands of experienced anglers.”
I would gladly install accurate research equipment to some species of sharks that have less of a measure of stress than the hammerhead sharks. I have caught many different species of sharks and big fish and I believe species under less stress after being caught are tiger, bull, lemon, and nurse sharks.
So if I can be involved in more scientific research for sharks I would not mind. I have helped UM research juvenile bull sharks at one point. I am only a high school kid so I do not have the money for all of that kind of stuff so if a research group would like to donate and show me the proper usage and installments of these devices I can responsibly send a shark on its way with a tracking device in it as long as the device itself poses no threat or harm to the shark itself.
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Alright, so there are some clear differences of opinion, expertise, and perspective here. Maybe instead of questioning whether landing and releasing the shark was better or worse (the situation cannot be changed now, and while I don’t agree with what Alex has said, she made a good point on the line being cut at 50 yards; she’d already been fighting for about 350 yards and at this point was already stressed).
So, looking at both sides of the issue, is there a way for the conservation/research side to meet with the angling side? Eliminating whether or not the shark should have been landed – let’s approach this like he didn’t know it was a hammerhead – what are best practices once a shark is landed? What can the angling community and the conservation community agree on?
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“Much of our research aims to better inform anglers so that they can continue to enjoy their sport while having a smaller impact on the marine environment.”
I love to fish and would love to continue to have productive fishing so I welcome any information on how to avoid having a negative impact on the marine environment. I also think there should be more focus on stopping all the finning and killing done by commercial shark fishermen. You question this angler’s treatment of his catch, however the people you should primarily be concerned about are the commercial anglers who haul up many tons of sharks per year just to cut their fins off and toss them back in the ocean to drown. Its all about money.
“It should have been released immediately- BEFORE reviving it was necessary.”
A shark of this size that puts up such a fight would have needed to be revived regardless, unless you are suggesting recreational anglers just cut the line from the get-go and let the fish trail hundreds of yards of line which could wrap around structure and perhaps drown the fish. Or are we to wait until the fish has been played out and is near shore, tired from the fight..just cut the line and let the fish sink to the bottom without attempting to revive it? If you don’t keep this species moving, they will drown. But you knew that, you’re a PHd. Any experienced shark angler who has respect for the catch will do what he or she can to make sure the fish does well after being caught..this includes reviving his/her catch. I feel that I owe it to a fish tired from the fight to revive it and keep it moving. I believe this is the best practice over just cutting the line and letting a tired disoriented fish flail in the wash to sink and drown.
“Terry, the whole point is to avoid “that long and stressful of a battle” in the first place.”
I agree..however sometimes this is beyond our control. We cannot control exactly what takes our bait, and a fish that size is not as easy to control on rod and reel as a trout. The angler fought this fish on high drag the whole fight and based on what I have heard about this species..one hour is a very short fight for a large hammerhead..The angler had applied 55 lbs (quite a bit to handle) of drag from his reel, attempting to break the spirit of the fish and end the fight quickly as possible.
“the issue is what happened after it was caught.”
You assume the angler killed this shark in your title, despite all the effort he put into releasing this fish which he never even removed from the water. What happened to that little pup shark in your avatar that you are holding out of the water? Should we just take your word for it that it is alive and well now, or perhaps the way you are holding the fish damaged its internal organs and the stress of being out of the water ended up killing it?
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Terry, I see where you’re coming from, and you’re starting to help bridge the gap between conservation and angling (though, I don’t think there should be a gap, we have a lot to learn from each other). But the personal attack at the end was uncalled for.
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Kathy, if you consider that an attack, then what do you consider the title of this article, where the author suggests the angler killed the fish? The gap you mention is created by instances such as that.
And Jamison, smooth line isn’t easily caught on anything I agree. However, “within a few minutes” you are not moving a shark this size anywhere and he is still far off the beach. The suggestion of cutting the line at this point leaves a fish trailing a few hundred yards of line and when you are dealing with this much line washing around in the ocean currents I am sure it is bound to get tangled to some extent and while this tangled mess is dragged along wouldn’t you agree there is at least some chance it could catch onto a piece of coral, artificial reef, sunken boat, ect and perhaps limit the shark’s mobility to some extent?
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Clearly, your goal is alienation, here – being that “Kathy” is not my name. If you read my entire comment, you’d see that I agreed with pretty much everything else you said.
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I am sorry you feel that way and sorry for the name mixup. Also, in your reply you referred to me as “Terry” and that is also not my name so I suppose we are both guilty of that.
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You’re right, and I apologize.
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I sincerely hope your ‘done with this’. You have been the least helpful person in all of the conversations concerning this matter.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Why does this have to be about laws? We both (apparently) want the same thing – sharks in the ocean for the foreseeable future. What’s so hard about understanding that different shark species respond to the fight differently, that people who actually study sharks in fact do know a god-damn thing or two about sharks, and that hammerheads simply can’t handle a prolonged fight the way something like a tiger shark can?
Here’s a question for you: have you conducted any experiments to confirm that those hammerheads you lovingly walked and massaged until life was renewed survived? Have you bothered to understand why, based on the physiological data Austin presented in his talk, that some of those sharks might not survive? Have you bothered to consider that maintaining size-weight records for endangered species encourages anglers to pursue that monster fish and take risks with its health and survival in order to wave their dicks around on internet forums?
Look, I love fishing, I want people to be able to fish for the foreseeable future. I want to be able to teach my grandchildren to fish. But lets get real here, catch-and-release fishing is something we do for fun. So step down from your self-righteous pedestal and get a grip. One way or another, we won’t be catching hammerheads in the future. Why don’t we work together to make sure that they’re still in the ocean. We’re catching fish for fun, it’s our responsibility to make concessions towards their survival.
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Those of you worried about a shark trailing several yards of line and getting ‘caught’. Can someone tell me of an instance when the line and not the hook was caught on something? Its not that easy for a smooth line to catch on something.
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I am restating my reply to Mr. Shiffman ““To the best of my knowledge, there is no evidence of something like this ever happening (please correct me if I’m incorrect).”
I know of three cases of this happening personally. I have seen a tarpon tangled up (floating and dead) to a dock with heavy monofilament line. I have saved a very small snook that was stuck on a rock with a long trail of line hanging out of its mouth attached to a hook.
Lastly, an estimated 9ft bull shark in the Florida Keys became entangled on heavy fishing leader and a lobster trap bouy (the buoy used to identify to the crab and lobster trappers where there traps were laid long ago). This happened all before my eyes one morning as the angler hooked the fish and could no longer move it and the shark could no longer pull out line. This angler knew that the shark was still alive and made the judgement to leave the shark on the line for a short time until there was enough daylight for him to go out on the kayak and attempt to rescue the shark. He was not strong enough to free the shark from the kayak so he decided to clip an even heavier line to his leader and pull the shark into shallower water to help save it. This was not the outcome though; as the angler attempted to bring the shark in the heavier line that he attached to his lighter rigging broke the lighter rigging very close to the hook and we watched as the shark swam off strong.”
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As I said above, Jason, in reply to Mark, I’m willing to accept that this can happen (extremely rarely) since Mark says he’s seen it happen a few times.
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For all those interested in seeing this scientific data presented, with graphs and explanation, I encourage you to watch this short 5 minute video I presented last fall at the American Museum of Natural History:
“Stressed Sharks: Modeling Better Catch and Release Fishing”
link to symposia.cbc.amnh.org
Thanks!
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I sit in the middle of both parties. I am an active marine conservationist. I petition where I can, donate time and money to organizations that I think will help preserve sharks, tuna and other marine life. When Dave was in the running for the sponsorship of his blog last year, I posted the link to vote for him every day for about three months on every site I frequent. Likewise, I have been a dedicated catch and release shark angler for twenty years.
I have not read every single post here, but did notice 2 things:
#1. Bickering about single words and sentences or words has replaced rational debate. Remember debate does NOT mean fighting it means discussion of viewpoints.
#2. The scientists and catch & release fishermen have far more in common than they disagree upon.
Here are two lessons I think WE ALL can learn:
#1. After reading about Co2 build-up in sharks during fights, it is clear that shark fishermen should neither beach a shark for photos nor allow the shark to stop moving. Get the fish in shallow water, revive it by walking it and send it on its way as fast as possible. Have someone take the photo while you free the fish. Do not measure it, do not go for the “jaws shot” just keep it moving and let go when it is recovered, but do nothing to delay the release. If you care about sharks, and you care about the sport this is the only responsible way to behave.
This is a big issue because I am an active member of Texas Shark fishing’s forum (youknowryan is my username) and I also looked at the Florida forum. In both forums, there are hundreds if not thousands of pictures of people with the shark dragged onto the beach for photos. Doing this to a shark is like a human running as fast as he can for 15-60 minutes (the duration of most fights) and then having someone hold your head underwater for 2-5 minutes at the very end. This is terrible since it is when you need to breathe the most. Well, in reverse that’s what some people do to the shark! I have never beached a shark myself, and will encourage other not to since it’s even worse that I initially figured.
#2. The scientists/non-fishing conservationists should remember that their best allies are catch & release shark fishermen. Out of the hundreds I have met, only 1-2% would ever keep a shark (and the few that do are generally looked down upon by the others). 98% want nothing more than to release their catch and see all sharks thrive. This means they usually support policies/laws aimed to that end and do the valuable service of helping friends, family, other anglers, etc. see the value in live sharks. They preach catch limits, size limits, and treating the animals with respect.
I would advise the scientists to be very careful in how they say things because the shark fisherman is a solid ally and good intentions on the scientist’s part might be misinterpreted with what might be misconstrued as accusatory language. For example, “likely kills” might be accurate; however “endangered the life of” means the same thing, but is less likely to make the other side stop listening. After reading the original blog entry, I have posted a link and my thoughts on a couple of sites I visit to spread the word. I would bet my last dollar that numerous shark fishermen are now revising how they will handle sharks in the future and will no doubt share this information with other sharkers. This event will have some positive results!
In sum, both groups have a lot in common, and I hope that everyone will continue to respect each other’s views and remember that the continued existence of sharks is the #1 thing we all care about. It is here we must focus our efforts and be understanding of the other side’s thoughts and actions.
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Thank you.
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Great article! As I try to do on my website http://www.floridagofishing.com, educating anglers is very important. Now that the Great Hammerhead is protected anglers need to know the rules and proper release procedures if they catch this beautiful shark. Hammerheads are very common in South Florida and I don’t think many know the new rules. I would love to republish this article on my website if possible to educate my readers.
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I guess I’m confused. How does any person know for certain this animal died? Based on their expert opinion? I can’t see how any person, looking at a picture, can tell what happened to that non tagged shark after it swam away in a large body of water, let alone the ocean.
I’m not a scientist, nor was I there when this happened. I know Monday morning quarterbacking when I read it though.
I realize biologists that study these animals in the wild have a whole other perspective than the anglers. Both would be better served to have a working relationship with each other.
That is, if the ultimate objective is truly the welfare and conservation of the species.
This incident seemed to be within the parameters of the current guidelines for catch and release as it is written. I called the FWC and spoke at length about this event. The sources I spoke with didn’t see any violation of law either. I brought the images with me, as well as this young man’s report that the author mentions in his summary of events. No violation was found in what was shown.
If the author has an opinion on the law, based on his own viewpoint, that’s his right.
Personal opinions do not factor into how these laws should be enforced or interpeted.
Show the studies that support your hypothesis, and make your case, it’s that simple.
I think you will find many anglers (myself included) much more inclined to listen to a scientific explanation instead of conjecture.
If possible, could you also include the catch data of long line vessels and trawlers? It should be brought into the discussion as well, since they kill off thousands of more endangered animals every year commercially.
A commercial industry whose by catch, just happens to kill more sharks than any other form of oceanic harvest. That holds true in all of the world’s oceans, not just the Gulf or the Atlantic.
Like I mentioned earlier, I’m not a scientist, but I would think the kill numbers may be much higher than any land based angler group using rods and reels.
This inconvenient truth seems to get glossed over by biologists and lawmakers from time to time.
I don’t mean to be contrite, but I wish your response to be accurate.
Why is it easier to target law abiding anglers, than it is to stop a 100 ton fishing vessel? Especially when the vessel is slaughtering sharks by the hundreds each day it operates??
I have never understood that concept….
Long line trawlers kill more sharks than any other form of oceanic harvest in the world’s oceans. They don’t cut their lines and let the shark swim away either, as you already know. The animals are finned and thrown overboard in most cases.
Where are the studies on that ecosystem impact being done?
Like it or not, recreational anglers drive a multi billion dollar sport economy in the United States. $722 million was spent by recreational anglers in the state of Florida alone in 2009.
Ironically, some of these revenues fund alot of the research grants you and other biology majors enjoy as students right now, and in the future.
Writing a piece on the alleged “killing of a protected species” -without evidence- will garnish attention. If that was your goal,then it seems you accomplished what you intended.
A sensational opinion is not going to solve the issue here. We have to come to a solution and try to work together.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Please examine this previously posted posted link: link to symposia.cbc.amnh.org
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“I guess I’m confused. How does any person know for certain this animal died? Based on their expert opinion? I can’t see how any person, looking at a picture, can tell what happened to that non tagged shark after it swam away in a large body of water, let alone the ocean.
I’m not a scientist, nor was I there when this happened. I know Monday morning quarterbacking when I read it though.”
The ‘expert opinion’ is based on years of studying this exact question (what happens to sharks of different species, including the great hammerhead, after fighting fishing gear for different amounts of time).
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I’d would like to ask that commenters refrain from playing “Ocean Impact Olympics”. Yes, there are other issues in marine conservation, fisheries management, and industry oversight. Just because big things are happening in the ocean, doesn’t mean we can’t talk about smaller, local issues as well.
I’d encourage anyone who feels that we should be more concerned with other ocean issues to spend some time perusing this site, as we have over 1200 articles running the gamut from deep-sea mineral extraction to exobiology.
The “Best Of SFS” page is a good place to start.
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