Big Thanks to the Blacktip Challenge

Thanks to Mr Abernathy for once again taking a cheap shot at our sport.Josh Jorgensen continues to do an outstanding job with his tournament and always goes beyond the call of duty to get the scientific community involved to benefit from the sharks caught during the Blacktip Challenge.It is unfortunate but hammerheads sharks sometimes die when hooked.

Yes this is true!! Thanks Josh!! And about hammerheads all of us should be held responsible for what we catch if you catch a hammerhead and it dies you need to discard of its remains I know it sounds harsh but that hammerhead will go back into mither nature of dragged out to sea!! A dozen dead sharks a year from us shore bound anglers isn't a speck of sand that long linersdo annually!!

Couldn't agree more Shannon!!!! Every year there are some hippies that stand up and try to point the figure at us land based shark fishermen......Shark killers they say.......... when the true threat to these animals are commercial shark fishermen and shark finers who catch kill then sell hundreds of thousands in the back ground every year while LBSF take the heat.....I for one am tired of this. We as a collective group promote conservation of all sharks hints Catch and Release!!!!! and the fact that we are willing to work side by side with scientist in tournament's which promote conservation better than anything else proves our true objectives. Yes a small fraction of sharks don't survive and this is sad but if only a small fraction die while the vast majority survive to reproduce and keep the spices going and the sport as well I say keep on fighting josh and will. I'm willing to stand by your side and fight for both the species and the sport. I've seen a lot of people on Facebook, the news, and other social outlets outraged at the tournament's and fellow anglers when the true enemy is media and those who despise fishermen in general. Its time for us to come together and not blame each other instead work together to overcome this hurtle!!!!

Yes I was one of those people mad at other anglers at first. but when the dust settles we all make mistakes and like mentioned before the true enemy are all those who despise shark fishermen and media

When I saw the posts coming in on Facebook I cringed. It's a tough call. A hammer that died in our neck of the woods last year was brought back out to sea, only to wash up a few miles away. It became news... Burying one is an option, but by the letter of the law, illegal. If you are going to bury it, bury it. Cut it into a few pieces. Someone must have seen it being done.

What bothered me was the reports of garbage. It's criminal to leave one speck on our gorgeous beaches. We could get more trouble from that, than the dead sharks!

A few years back, our crew was ripping it up pretty good and when we had something on, people would arrive from the condos behind our beach. We could have 40 people on a good night. What killed me was the crap they left. I would be stuck out there at 3 am cleaning the &%(*&$# beach. Now, we bring garbage bags etc. Someone wants to watch, we read them the riot act. We as shark fishermen are becoming - more visible...We need to become less visible...quiet.

Unused bait is just as bad. Find a dumpster somewhere on the way home. I dumped a bunch of bait one night, and rightfully so as it all washed up the next AM, some old timer surf fishermen pulled me aside and gave me shit. One old guy says: "I'll let you off this time, but if I see it again, I will let the FSW guy know who you are." They did show up. Smartened me up.

I'm sounding old here, but I just don't want to be cut off from doing something that is really fun. There are people out there just waiting for this shit to happen.

I will say: Damn, I wish I had been there. Sounds like it was a good time. Maybe next year.

Chris

As one of the oldest S.F.S.C. current members i remember a time we were deemed hero's. Shark Fishing has caught a lot of negative flak and now we are called killers and endangering swimmers and the species we fish. This isn't going to change so we have to adept accordingly and as a former media employee i know " NO NEWS IS WORSE THAN BAD NEWS ". It go's hand in hand with shark fishing.

This is from the first article..

"Fishermen are catching Blackfish sharks, tagging them, and releasing them."

What the hell is a 'blackfish shark'? The media is so pathetic today, they don't even bother making sure the small details of their lies are accurate. It is bad enough the media is run by a bunch of communist sodomites, but they are getting even dumber and dumber as the years go by.

Also, what is with this story trying to suggest that this tournament is responsible for all the sharks off the coast this time of year? What is it like 3 days long? So, according to media 'logic' a 3 day shark tournament with a handful of fishermen scattering a few cut baits here and there over hundreds of miles of coast is responsible for an entire annual shark migration?

Now if the media twists things around in regards to this shark tournament, which in the overall scheme of things does not matter at all and non-newsworthy outside the fishing community..just imagine how they twist and manipulate things of actual importance, such as how this country is run. The only purpose of the media is to drive government agendas..not to inform people, but brainwash them into acceptance of certain agendas. Ratings and money are an afterthought. This shark tournament is a perfect example..rich tourists don't need to be aware of the fact that sharks swim right off their multimillion dollar condos..they would spend less money in this crumbling economy if they knew. It's just a couple dozen shark fishermen who are responsible for a migration of thousands of sharks.