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STRENGTH IN UNITY
Our shark club has been together for decades maintaining a tradition of shore bound and boat shark fishing started long ago in South Florida.It is our goal to maintain this union of anglers who enjoy the same type of fishing and to also accept new members who want to share with us the same passion for shark fishing.We are a friendly bunch of people from all walks of life and different backgrounds but the one thing we all have in common is the love of shark fishing.We are a down to earth bunch who are willing to help any and all to get started in our sport.Our goal is to maintain and grow our shark club and to bring respect,recognition and protection to the sport we enjoy.Shark fishing has changed in many ways from the times when we first started.We now are a catch and release minded club and no longer kill sharks unless it is going to be put on a grill or in a frying pan.Sharks need our protection and my goal as president of this shark club is to encourage every fisherman catching sharks to release them back to grow and perpetuate the species.The sharks life cycle shows us that sharks take a long time to reach maturity before they are able to reproduce. In the United States laws have been implemented to protect sharks from overfishing but the Asiatic nations continue to decimate the species without regards for the future of these magnificent creatures. Thanks to the internet the sport of shark fishing is growing and will continue to grow.Here in Florida the state's population and the number of fisherman are also growing and that is inevitable. This sport deserves that we protect it and defend our right to fish and our rights to beach access. Out of respect for the general public we do not promote or condone fishing from a crowded beach during the day. It is our job as responsible human beings and fisherman to think of safety first and our own entertainment second therefore we should be very careful of where we fish and what time we fish as to not endanger a swimmers life. Yes it is true that big money (condo and hotel owners) usually will influence city officials if they complain enough and laws in cities and local municipalities could be enacted that would affect shark fishing from the beach. Sadly enough the land based fisherman are under represented and do not wield a great amount of influence YET!! It is up to us to unite, create or join organizations that will further our cause and become a voice for all Florida shore bound fisherman. To unite is our salvation to sit back and do nothing could be our destruction. Since the 1960's some seaside towns have been hammering away laws to ban shark fishing from there beaches and it is unfortunate and based on the undeserved fear of sharks. Well the world has changed; today we know better, we know that sharks are not blood thirsty creatures looking to devour the first human they can find. We know that sharks were here before we invaded the beaches and put up high rises on every inch of beach front land, and sharks will be here long after we are gone. We must educate the general public that comes in contact with us when we are involved in our sport.
MY SUGGESTION: Is that we get the scientific community involved and in particular Mote Marine Laboratory (Dr Hueter and Dr Castro) by providing
tags to every fisherman involved in shark tournaments. We could interest them in doing twice a year a census type thing to gauge how the overall shark populations off our beaches are doing-maybe even get state funding to help out. Why not? We should print with Mote's help literature to explain the purpose of tagging sharks and hand out to the frightened public we come in contact with. If we stride to educate them about sharks and there relationship to the beaches and the annual patterns in there migrations we would be perceived differently. Educate and bring awareness to the people around us when a shark is caught from a beach by letting them know that the sharks naturally swim in the waters of every beach in the state.
We will not lay down our shark rods because people are scared and uneducated about sharks. We have said it in the past and I’ll repeat here again WE WILL BRING RESPECT AND RECOGNITION not only to land based shark fishing but to SHOREBOUND FISHING in general." Low key" no way I will not operate out of fear, never have. I'm a strong believer that if you love something enough you must fight for it and I love a good fight. I for one will continue to defend this sport and the right to practice it and only hope that anyone who truly loves shark fishing will not only talk the talk but walk the walk by getting involved in its defense.By staying diligent in our efforts to promote catch and release we will show the world that we can enjoy our sport while protecting and securing the future of the sharks.
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
Will you really kicked it up another notch. This web site is great and we will just keep on expanding as the years go by. To all of these other readers this sport and tradition passed on to us by many legends like Hammer, Rene de dios, Mike from team old skool, and many others is a family sport believe it or not. Every time i go out i bring the wife my 2 year old daughter and a gang of old sharkfisherman along with me on almost all our trips. We set up post on the bridge, have the ladies catching snappers and kids fishing for bait while the men put out the big 14/ 16/0 missels,then the wait. Telling stories and having a great time when every time every one is caught off guard by that screaming clicker la la la la la la la la,..... la la la la la la la la. its a wonderful family experience, and us as men cannot count out our other friends and family members. Show the web site to your friends even if there beginners, give your wife and kids usernames if there interested. Women can knock the old skool salty fisherman out of the box at any given night, look at the pictures for proof.
Fellas its time for us to expand, i mean what better pass - time is there than fishing with the ones you love?
Especially for our youth, with all the negativity out there today, the gangs,drugs, etc. some kids realy have no chance due to the environment that surrounds them. Its our opportunity to take these kids and tell them hey kid take a peak in the back of my truck, you see these huge rods, well we're going sharkfishing and today if you want to come you will catch your first shark. That 1 day trip can change a kids life forever believe it or not, its happened to me.
The old JD HAMMER (see his write up on sharkfishing legends front page)got me going fishing again as a teenager when i had taken a full turn into gangbanging, stealing and doing drugs. He would see me in the neighborhood up to no good and tell me hey shannon lets go your coming with me, I'd respond but hammer im broke and where are we going? He would say shannon we're going sharkin to the keys partner and you dont need money i got you partner. Sure enough i got so deep into fishing again, there was no longer anytime for the other cancers.
So fellas this is what i mean, its not only about us, reach out to your friends and family, if you can invest in getting them a little rod or w.e you can do. You may help a kid who was just like me.
Sincerely Shannon Bustamante
SFSC -East Coast Events Coordinator
Hey man that is deep stuff seaweed,i beleive what you say that we take new kids fishing cus that will get them a new sport that they will love and stay away from the bad influences in the neiborhoods of south Florida.Fishing has saved many young guys that i knew fishing the piers down here ,it kept them focused on catching fish an staying of the mean streets.we shuld bring in to the website an the shark club new recruits from the fishing piers and take them under our wing to keep them out of truoble.
Will i applaude you in your efforts on keeping this club alive and going strong and it maybe the longest running Shark Club out there today...it has Roots and a lotta History and you have do a great job showing that in this fourm and your clubs site...your hard work is not gone unnoticed ...
Your giving back to what a certain few of us have experianced in a era that was like no other...times have changed, the fishery has changed but our love for the sport hasnt....to a certian few this is a lifestyle for us, its in our blood and who we are, and many of the "Greats" that isnt with us, that was who they were as well...your making thier Legacy live on...
we can only hope your efforts will "inspire" and spawn may generations of sharkfisherman in years to come...keep up the great work on Fla's underrated Tradition!,,,mike 
exactly, together we can make this huge.
SFSC -East Coast Events Coordinator
thats deap shannon. i know all 2 well what you mean. i wouldnt b half the guy i am 2day without hammer or fishing alone.
2009 Team Hammer N The Phenoms
Go BIG or go home
Fellas its time for us to expand, i mean what better pass - time is there than fishing with the ones you love?
Especially for our youth, with all the negativity out there today, the gangs,drugs, etc. some kids realy have no chance due to the environment that surrounds them. Its our opportunity to take these kids and tell them hey kid take a peak in the back of my truck, you see these huge rods, well we're going sharkfishing and today if you want to come you will catch your first shark. That 1 day trip can change a kids life forever believe it or not, its happened to me.Sincerely Shannon Bustamante
VERY good write up Shannon....thanks for taking the time.
HEN FEEN
anything worth doin is worth doin right....
Thank You
SFSC -East Coast Events Coordinator