Image hurts sharks' case in ethical debate

By TERRY TOMALIN
Published July 7, 2006

The charter boat captain displayed the bloody jaws of a large bull shark as if it were a testament to his manhood.

While others gathered around to gawk, I held my tongue. I thought about asking why he would kill such a magnificent specimen for its teeth. But I figured, why bother. When it comes to sharks, many people rank them with cockroaches when it comes to usefulness to society.

There is no denying that bull sharks can and do kill people. In fact, of the big three (the other two being great whites and tigers) the bull is probably responsible for more attacks worldwide than any other species of shark.

Bull sharks also kill and eat their share of tarpon, which often puts them at odds with anglers, especially during the tournament season.

And make no mistake about it, I have no fondness for these thick-bodied predators, especially when I am scuba diving or paddling my sea kayak.

With that said, should anglers kill bull sharks, or hammerheads for that matter, simply to possess a trophy?

That question has been asked more than once in recent days, thanks to the revelation that a 1,280-pound, pending world record great hammerhead shark caught in Boca Grande last month was carrying 55 pups.

The man who caught the shark, Clyde "Bucky" Dennis of Port Charlotte, was hoping to set a world record when he rigged up a 20-pound stingray to a 12/0 hook backed by 24 feet of 600-pound wire leader.

The 36-year-old angler had been trying for several years to land a big hammerhead. The species sphyrna mokarran can get quite large, by some estimates 18 to 20 feet.

But it was obvious from the initial photographs published by this newspaper (and later sought by numerous publications including the New York Times and Sports Illustrated) that the 14-foot-long beast had a particularly impressive girth.

The day after the original story appeared, people began to speculate that the shark might have been so heavy because it was carrying babies. As a result, the carcass was transported to Sarasota's Mote Marine Laboratory, where scientists concluded that the shark was indeed just days away from giving birth.

The scientists, who had thought that great hammerheads give birth to 20 to 40 pups at one time, were surprised to find so many fully developed sharks inside the mother. To put it in perspective, a whale shark, the largest fish in the sea, gives birth to about 300 pups at one time, and the small coastal sharks, bear about two to 10 pups at one time.

The necropsy that was performed on the shark revealed some other interesting information. According to a news release from Mote, the shark's reproductive tract weighed 250 pounds; the stomach contained a whole southern stingray (presumably the bait used by Dennis and half of a 5-foot-long tarpon; the shark's liver weighed more than 100 pounds.

While it is unlikely that the death of one shark will make a dent in the overall shark population, the incident does raise some critical questions worth considering. Should an angler kill any species, be it tarpon, bull or great hammerhead shark, simply for the case of a trophy or a record?

Some would say no, that a fish should only be killed if it is going to be consumed.

Others would disagree, saying that man, the apex predator on Earth, can kill what he chooses, simply because he can.

If that is the case, then sharks could be headed for trouble.

This news is nothing new. Two years ago, this reporter had the opportunity to interview the late Peter Benchley, author of the 1974 novel Jaws, which was later made into what many consider to be the most frightening movie of all time. Benchley's book created a mass hysteria that ended with large numbers of sportfishermen targeting sharks of all shapes and sizes.

Benchley said he felt bad about the carnage, and that is why he spent the next 30 years of his life trying to dispel many of the myths he helped create.

To make amends, Benchley published another book, Shark Life: True Stories About Sharks and the Sea (Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, $15.95, 208 pages). The book was targeted at young readers, hopefully anglers.

Educational institutions such as Mote Marine also do their share to get out the real story on sharks. For the record, Mote asks "fishermen not to kill sharks for sport and to remember that shark populations have been severely depleted by overfishing."

Maybe something good will come out of this sad incident after all.

[Last modified July 5, 2006, 13:03:36]