Sally
Beach Fanatic
U.S. Humane Society urges protection for local sharks, habitat
By DUSTY RICKETTS
DESTIN ? The controversy surrounding the Destin Deep Water Shark Tournament continues.
The Humane Society of the United States returned to Destin on Monday to again discuss the damage future shark fi shing tournaments could have on different shark species.
M.C. Davis, a local conservationist and owner of Nokuse Plantation in Walton County, sponsored the event by bringing John Grandy, the Humane Society?s senior vice president of Wildlife and Habitat Protection, to talk about the status of the shark population in the Gulf of Mexico and around the world.
The Humane Society protested the return of the Destin Deep Water Shark Tournament in September, printing full-page ads in local newspapers and fl ying a banner plane near the tournament site.
The tournament was called off in 1995 amid environmental concerns. While the tournament was called a success by its organizers, one that attracted both fi shermen and spectators, it drew protests for its impact on the shark population.
?The truth is that tournaments that glorify the killing and mutilation of sharks do not belong in the 21st century,? Grandy said.
?If Destin and the museum want to have an event focused on sharks, why not a celebration? Destin is a community that has grown and evolved and so, too, has the conservation movement.?
Of the 547 species of sharks and rays evaluated by the World Conservation Union in a 2006 study, a fifth of all species are considered threatened with extinction. Nearly 100 other species had insuffi - cient information to evaluate their status.
Grandy said the oceanic whitetipped shark was once common in the Gulf of Mexico but is now on the brink of extinction.
One of the reasons so many shark species are in danger is because it takes much longer for a shark to reach sexual maturity and start reproducing than it does for most fi sh.
?We need the public to care about sharks in the same way that they cared about saving whales that were being slaughtered for money,? Grandy said.
?An important fi rst step is ending tournaments and instead educating the public about the majesty of sharks and the dim future they face. We need to stop hauling them up on docks, bloody and mutilated.?
Davis, who organized the presentation with the Humane Society, said events such as the Destin Deep Water Shark Tournament give children the message that they need to torture and kill something to feel good about themselves.
Officials from the city of Destin and the Destin History & Fishing Museum were invited to Monday?s presentation but did not attend.
The museum is closed on Mondays and its representatives could not be reached for comment.
By DUSTY RICKETTS
DESTIN ? The controversy surrounding the Destin Deep Water Shark Tournament continues.
The Humane Society of the United States returned to Destin on Monday to again discuss the damage future shark fi shing tournaments could have on different shark species.
M.C. Davis, a local conservationist and owner of Nokuse Plantation in Walton County, sponsored the event by bringing John Grandy, the Humane Society?s senior vice president of Wildlife and Habitat Protection, to talk about the status of the shark population in the Gulf of Mexico and around the world.
The Humane Society protested the return of the Destin Deep Water Shark Tournament in September, printing full-page ads in local newspapers and fl ying a banner plane near the tournament site.
The tournament was called off in 1995 amid environmental concerns. While the tournament was called a success by its organizers, one that attracted both fi shermen and spectators, it drew protests for its impact on the shark population.
?The truth is that tournaments that glorify the killing and mutilation of sharks do not belong in the 21st century,? Grandy said.
?If Destin and the museum want to have an event focused on sharks, why not a celebration? Destin is a community that has grown and evolved and so, too, has the conservation movement.?
Of the 547 species of sharks and rays evaluated by the World Conservation Union in a 2006 study, a fifth of all species are considered threatened with extinction. Nearly 100 other species had insuffi - cient information to evaluate their status.
Grandy said the oceanic whitetipped shark was once common in the Gulf of Mexico but is now on the brink of extinction.
One of the reasons so many shark species are in danger is because it takes much longer for a shark to reach sexual maturity and start reproducing than it does for most fi sh.
?We need the public to care about sharks in the same way that they cared about saving whales that were being slaughtered for money,? Grandy said.
?An important fi rst step is ending tournaments and instead educating the public about the majesty of sharks and the dim future they face. We need to stop hauling them up on docks, bloody and mutilated.?
Davis, who organized the presentation with the Humane Society, said events such as the Destin Deep Water Shark Tournament give children the message that they need to torture and kill something to feel good about themselves.
Officials from the city of Destin and the Destin History & Fishing Museum were invited to Monday?s presentation but did not attend.
The museum is closed on Mondays and its representatives could not be reached for comment.
...are there Cougars in Florida, too?
