Is this cool or is it slaughter?

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Fishermen risk death by using kayaks in quest to catch sharks
Last updated at 13:58pm on 8th October 2007

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Brave fishermen set a new world first when they went hunting for sharks using simple rods and paddling in kayaks.

The extreme sportsmen shunned the traditional idea of a peaceful day’s fishing when they rowed into the freezing shark-infested waters off Alaska.

The daring team of four were surrounded by 200 to 300 salmon sharks which were up to nine feet long and weighed between 400 and 1,000 lbs.

They baited their Avet 50 reels with large pieces of salmon, and managed to catch four of the sharks during their intrepid expedition near Hinchinbrook Island.

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Shark hunter

Extreme sports: One shark hunter shows his catch while in the waters off Alaska
Captain Christopher Mautino said: "Sharks were thrashing around in the near distance and we couldn’t help but wonder what was in store.

"They attack salmon just like great whites attack seals.

"They thrash around and jump completely out of the water.

“It is quite violent and impressive to watch.”

Describing the expedition in July he added: "As I dropped the salmon down, feelings of ‘what am I doing?’ came over me.

“I could see the sharks, which looked to be the same size as the kayaks.”

Shark hunter

The fishermen spend an hour or more tackling each shark before reeling them in

The fishermen, who come from the American Ocean Kayak Fishing Team, spent an hour or more tackling each of the sharks they caught and reeling them in.

Two of the creatures were hauled in to the Prowler 13 kayaks and a further two were released again.

Mr Mautino added: "I intentionally kept the trip under wraps until everyone returned home in one piece - and we have.

“None of us knew what to expect since this was the first time we had fished together as a group as well as the first time a kayaker had fished for Salmon Sharks.”

Shark hunter

The group’s sharks were thought to weigh between 375 and 350 pounds and were an average of 7ft 10ins in length

The team, which also included Allen Sansano, Chris Mautino and Allen Bushnell were taken by a Pacific Mountain Guides charter boat across Prince William Sound to the back of Hinchinbrook Island.

“We are all experienced anglers and kayakers so either as a whole or individually, we felt confident in our personal abilities and limits,” said the captain.

"The sharks were concentrating on feeding on the Pink Salmon and I really don’t think they gave us a second thought.

"We slow trolled the bait behind the kayaks with the rods laying across our laps.

"Our biggest concerns were staying upright in the kayaks and keeping from getting tangled up in the gear and pulled over as well.

“There were so many sharks thrashing around us it was crazy. Even while fighting these fish, others were crashing the surface only feet away.”

The group’s four sharks were thought to weigh between 375 and 350 pounds and were an average of 7ft 10ins in length.

“We all agreed that nobody caught the biggest one, and they were all relatively the same,” said Mr Mautino.

“This has been my long term goal since coming to Alaska, and now its complete.”

I dunno. Part of me says these guys are cool and part of me says they are idiots. It almost feels like a personality test. Your thoughts are appreciated. I can’t mull this over by myself the rest of the day.

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Erm…

WOW!

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They are… cool idiots.

4

killing for recreation = idiots… if they want to label themselves “brave sports fisherman” let’s see them do it without the kayaks… :raspberry:

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Well, it appears they aren’t commericailly fished, and you are only allowed two per person per year. Moreover, they aren’t considered especially dangerous to people. And I bet they’re really not the first people to paddle out in a kayak and nab one, as I’m quite sure the local population had a few lads willing to try their hand at sometime.

Still, I find sports hunting of any variety repugnant, even when it is catch and release. I don’t mind offing vermin, mind you, such as cats, rabbits, camels, water buffalo, foxes and what not in Australia, or culling to trim natural numbers when another factor is involved in artifically inflating them - roo populations in Australia, for example. As a former surfer I also used to cheer the idea of shark fishing and there is still a part of me that is attracted to the idea of rudderless sharks not being able to hone in and bite me . . . .

Erhm, so, I dunno. Looks like fun.

[quote]There is no current commercial fishery for salmon shark, however, they are occasionally caught as bycatch in commercial salmon gillnet fisheries where they are usually discarded. Commercial fisheries regard salmon sharks as nuisances, since they can damage fishing gear[5], and consume portions of the commercial catch. There are some reports of fishermen deliberately injuring salmon sharks.[8]

Sport fishermen fish for salmon sharks in Alaska.[9]Alaskan fishing regulations limit the catch of salmon shark to two sharks per person per year.

The flesh of the fish is utilized for human consumption, and in the Japanese city of Kesennuma, Miyagi, the heart is considered a delicacy for use in sashimi.[5]

Although salmon sharks are thought to be capable of injuring humans, there are few if any attacks on humans. There are, however, reports of divers encountering salmon sharks as well as salmon sharks bumping fishing vessels.[8] These reports, however, may need positive identification of the shark species involved.[5][/quote]

HG

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Catching feeding sharks isn’t at all skillful. I guess rod fishing from a kayak is, though. We used to catch seatrout from kayaks and those things weighed like 10 pounds and even that was pretty damn difficult, although they DID fight. I can’t imagine doing it with a 300 pound critter, even if they’re basically like hooking bits of driftwood.

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I don’t see the point of it all, really.

In Pennsylvania, we have hunting seasons for most game, as the game populations have exploded and hunting is a way of managing those populations.

Shark populations, however, are dwindling to dangerous levels. So, again, I don’t see the point in this “adventure”.

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Reminds me of the guys who went polar bear hunting with .44 magnums back in the '70s. That was also in Alaska. Maybe something in the water…

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If the population is regulated, and they’re abiding by the regulations, I see no problem with it. It’s fishing!

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Couldn’t they have had a wonderful enough experience just kayaking around in that beautiful environment, watching and photographing those magnificent animals? Why did they need to kill some of them? Would it have been even better if they could’ve butchered a couple of Inuit too?

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Its called “fishing” Omni. Maybe you’ve heard of it. Killing Inuit would be murder, I believe. Not quite the same thing as fishing at all, at all.
They’re fishing, its heavily regulated and they eat what they kill, at least according to the story.
You’d be better off directing your anger at commercial salmon fishermen killing probably far greater numbers and discarding them as bycatch so that you can have your cans of John West.

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As they no doubt paid a huge pile of dollars to go on this killing trip, I’m quite sure their motive for fishing wasn’t to be able to feed themselves and their families. If that had been the case, it would, of course, have been wholly excusable.

I’m thoroughly disgusted at all of them, indeed. May they all get tangled in their own nets and die an excruciating death.

Though as a strict vegetarian, I’m hardly likely to be wanting to buy any cans of John West or anything else taken by any fisherman by any means.

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FREE THE LENTILS! is all I have to say to that.