Bimini BULL 'ish: Shooting Fish in a Barrel

Duncan and I spent an amazing day on the water to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary and decided to head to the north island for dinner. We sat on the Big Game restaurant deck and enjoyed our cocktails as we watched the sun slipping away. The fish-cleaning tables were bustling with activity as several guys cleaned the day’s Mahi Mahi catch. We watched as they leaned over the railings and pointed, no doubt spotting some of the bull sharks that cruise the area looking for free scraps. For decades bulls sharks have swam into the channel between the islands and gotten a free meal from fisherman cleaning their catch. The Sharklab has been collecting valuable data from these animals for years through their tagging program.



Tagging a bull shark in Bimini IMAGE: Grant Johnson


This year Big Game launched an operation allowing people to see these incredible animals up close from the comfort of a shark cage. No, it is not conditioning the sharks to associate people with food, it is simply allowing people a safe viewing window of a phenomenon that has been happening for year. We watched as one guy grabbed a rod and his fighting belt. I looked at Duncan and we knew what this idiot was planning. The deep-sea rod with high-test tackle was not designed for catching snapper, but was ideal for sharks. All of a sudden everyone was shouting and running down the dock. He had hooked a shark and was now trying to figure out what to do. Guys were scrambling to grab cameras in order to capture their latest Facebook status update in an attempt to prove how tough or manly they are.

I headed for the dock and Duncan headed for the office. The guy was shouting, “it’s in the pilings,” as I made my way over. I quietly asked one of the guys what was going on and he smiled as he shared with me the excitement of the bull shark on the line. I could see the shark in the distance and walked back to the office. I had to bite my tongue because in their drunken state of machismo, these men would most definitely be argumentative and this accomplishes nothing.

Duncan was explaining the situation to the security guard as I entered the office. We made our way back to the deck and watched as she went to speak with the men. The shark had by this time broken the line and was now, most likely, sporting some new and unnecessary jewelry. You may be wondering why I am writing about this and there are 3 simple reasons.

1. This marina is clearly labeled as Shark Free with signs posted in several locations.

2. The Bahamas is a Shark sanctuary and fishing for sharks is illegal. There is a sign posted on the fish-cleaning table that clearly states this.

3. Fishing for sharks at a shark research & diving site is pathetic and completely disrespectful to the animals, the research and the island itself.

Here is what Bimini Bull Run had to say in response to our report.
“We just got word that someone deliberately hooked one of the wonderful sharks at Bimini Big Game Club yesterday. The shark broke the line but still has a hook in it, which is TOTALLY unacceptable.

These persons willfully chose to ignore:

1. Multiply Shark-Free Marinas Signs

2. Multiple Active Shark Zone Signs

3. Multiple Area Under Surveillance Signs

4. 220 feet of chain link fencing, 100 feet of wooden fencing

5. One ACTIVE camera on a 60 foot mast

6. An informational website that clearly states no fishing (SFMI)

We will be taking further steps to prevent ANYONE from fishing sharks at the BBGC. At the time security was called by the locals who witnessed the event (thank you!) and the shark fishing ended.

Due to the newly installed fencing at BBR it has made shark fishing much harder (you really have to try) but yesterdays sad event showed us that there is more educational work to be done and more outreach that could happen.

Change will happen but sometimes people who feel entitled will ignore every sign posted and only stop poor behavior when confronted."




*****UPDATE*****

The vessel these men were on has been banned from Bimini Big Game Club! Bimini LOVES Sharks

Shark Tacos:Tragedy and Triumph

I am a huge proponent of “thinking globally and acting locally.” This mentality inspires change and has far reaching impacts. With Shark Week approaching ,sharks are A List celebs making appearances in media across the globe (As they should be because they are AWESOME). Discovery has teamed up with some heavy hitters in the conservation world to make this year’s shows even better than ever with a strong focus on education and conservation.

The MexiBBQ in Astoria, New York has decided to celebrate Shark Week by serving SHARK TACOS! Yes, grilled bull shark tacos. I wrote to the restaurant and informed them that bull shark is listed as a near threatened species on the ICUN red list and that serving shark is unnecessary and unhealthy for people and the environment. I received a reply that assured me that they are using mako shark not bull shark, as if this remedied the whole situation. They also stated that they were “We respect and obey all environmental restrictions and thank you for pointing it out...” They probably honestly believe that this is what they are doing and do no understand that shark should not be served for any reason.


The food review has been circulating the Internet and no doubt they are feeling some pressure to make a more educated decision about their menu items. Not knowing is no longer an excuse. Do you homework. Sharks populations are being decimated across the globe, they do not need to be served in tacos or anything else. There is no shortage of food options for fancy restaurants in New York ,so there is absolutely no reason to offer it.

It is quite easy to point the finger at countries in Asia and other parts of the world, but the reality is that shark is being killed and served in our own backyards. The mako they are purchasing is probably being caught off New York, as they are regular catches in the fishing tournaments held there.

Just as I was finishing this blog I received an email from MexiBBQ stating, “In light of the recent awareness shown to us MexiBBQ will not serve Mako Shark. We were not aware that this breed of shark was on the endangered species list, and we have no intention of serving any fish that may become extinct. We apologize if we showed insensitivity to this matter.”

The rush of calls and emails from concerned ocean advocates made a difference. We all have a voice and if we speak with intelligence and compassion that voice can be very powerful. Thank you MexiBBQ for making a change to better help our oceans.

Shark Killing Vigilante- Just What the World Needs

Enio Regis Biela is a self-proclaimed vigilante in a race to protect the human race from its eminent doom at the hands or mouths of sharks. He believes that in order for people to sleep soundly in their beds, he must rid the ocean of man-eating sharks Yes, that’s right, this man has gone on a shark- killing spree because he believes sharks will wipe out the human race if we do not wipe them out first. Nope, I am not making this up, but I wish I were. Shocking that such blatant stupidity still runs rampant in a world where environmental issues have become mainstream. I do not believe that ignorance is the sole culprit at the heart of this ridiculous situation. He may be blind to the reality of global shark devastation, but I do believe that he is completely ignorant. Ignorance is no longer a viable excuse in my book. Not everyone may be aware of the extent to which sharks are in trouble, but I am sure they have caught a news show, internet post or magazine article at some point. The world is a small place and the Internet is continuously making it smaller. We have access to a great deal of knowledge, albeit that some is complete crap, but we do have access.


I wonder if Enio believe his own conviction or if it is a ploy for attention. Maybe he is doing it to spite some, “tree hugging granola eating hippies that care about the planet?” Whatever the reason the outcome is unacceptable. Along with conservationists I am guessing that local fisherman are probably disgusted with the waste. I know in Bimini the locals were angered by weekend warriors cutting out the jaws of bull sharks and then throwing them back. They were wasting the whole animal that could feed a lot of people. I am not a supporter of fishing for sharks at all, but if the animal is dead at least make use of it.


I am sure by now, with the ever-growing power of social media, Mr. Biela is getting an ear full about his actions. I hate Facebook, but I also love it for this reason. I can reach out to a lot of my passionate friends who may not know a lot about sharks, but will definitely have something to say about this disgrace. Even if you do not want to jump in and swim with sharks, most people do not want to see them tortured. Look how small the sharks at his feet are. They are juvenile bull sharks that will never get the chance to reach breeding age. His conquest will no longer be quiet, as the release of this image has no doubt catalyzed a campaign against his stupidity and blatant disregard for life and the oceans.



Below is my message to Mr. Biela. I was not able to send it because his page no longer exists. In less than 24 hours I imagine the spread of his disgusting action has caused him to rethink, at least his heroic exploits via the Internet. We will be watching for his page to go live again and will not stop spreading the word.

Mr. Biela:
I am a concerned ocean advocate writing to you in regards to pictures that were posted on the Internet. Sharks are vital for our oceans survival and by no means is killing them the answer. If human were truly in danger of super predation by sharks then swimmers around the world would be wiped out. Sharks do not consider humans food. This is a scientific fact. Yes, attacks do happen, but most can be explained and possibly prevented. The media, leaving the truth out because it is not as flashy, exaggerates the stories. The juvenile bull sharks you have slaughtered pose no threat to humans, so in fact you are contradicting the goal of your vigilante mission. You are teaching those around you that merciless slaughter is acceptable. You have the right to hate sharks for whatever reason you deem worthy, although I doubt you have any reason ground in reality, you do not have the right to slaughter these animals.
I hope you think about all the letters and statements that you are undoubtedly receiving and ask yourself if this is really how you want to live your life. I have no doubt that you solo quest to save humans will be halted, but it would be an amazing thing if you chose to stop on your own accord.

Key West Fishing Tournament Makes a Bold Move

The Shark Free Marina Initiative not only encourages marinas to sign on, but also for tournaments to change their rules to catch and release. If people insist on catching sharks, at least the animal has a chance. This is still a grey area because they animals are heavily stressed when caught and often die despite being released. Property method needs to be put in place and fishermen need to make the effort in minimizing stress and increase efficiency for the release. Catch and release is not the ideal end point, but it is a giant step in the right direction.

When I read that the Key West Fishing Tournament had made the ground breaking move to no longer accept shark weights towards winning counts I was thrilled. Key West is a Mecca for game fishing, so this was a risky and powerful move on the director’s behalf. I was also excited because if such a well-known and respected tournament makes the change, they will stand as a solid example for other tournaments in Florida and across the United States. This is an all ages tournament as well, so it stands to set an example for younger generations.

It was brought to my attention that within the official rules, “Sharks may be shot while the leader is being handled by a crew member.” This is an obvious conflict of the announcement to make the tournament shark free. I scanned the website and found a contact to ask about the rule. I have dealt with people that organize tournaments in the past and have received very defensive responses and anticipated a less than polite reply. Most often too stubborn to listen to any reason on why their actions might be worth rethinking.



Not only was the response I received polite, but Rob, the director, seemed to be thankful that such a mistake in the edit of the website had been found. We exchanged a few emails and I have even more of a respect for his movement to make change. Often times it is not the locals, but the tourists that put pressure on Florida fishermen. Pressure to find the fish and pressure to kill. At the end of the day the tourists leave and the locals are left with a sea that has been raped. They don’t care that all the sharks they take are having a massive impact on the local and global environment. They just want their trophy to brag about back home.

Below is the email I received from Rob and I do hope to continue working with him. He is one person, just like the rest of us, who spoke up and wants better for the oceans. We all have a voice and it might be tough sometimes, but change is never easy. What is happening in your backyard? What d you want to change.

Thank you Rob and thank you Jason for finding the error in the rules!

Jillian,

My thanks to you for catching that line in the rules. Granted it would have been offset by the line item that we don’t accept dead sharks as an entry, but still, I’d rather have all references to killing sharks removed from any/all of our materials. Hopefully we can set the example for other tournaments as well.

Here in the Keys, shark fishing has always been popular with people visiting the islands from the mainland due to the “hype” of the “man-eater” status sharks have been tagged with. I personally won’t take charters out for “shark trips”. I realize that is a personal decision made by me that sometimes does come with financial risks, but so be it. I am now involved in a personal campaign to educate the Charter community on the fact that if the person wants to have a mount made of a shark (or other species), there is no reason to kill the fish. I still see sharks being brought back to the dock in what I know is an effort to “pressure” the clients into buying the mount.

It will most likely be an uphill battle, but the more the word gets spread around to the anglers, the more pressure will be placed on the boats to release the fish. If you happen to see anything else on our site like the item you found, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Also, if you know of a way that I can help the effort to promote releasing sharks, I’d love to hear it.

Sincerely,

Rob

Key West Fishing Tournament is SHARK FREE

The decision is described as, " landmark," and it is truly a step in the right direction. The 8 month long tournament announced on February 10 that it will not include weights for ANY sharks during the tournament. They will only accept released sharks. This is a great improvement, but the sad part is that many of those, " released," sharks will most likely die. Being reeled into a boat can be extremely stressful on the animal, with some species more susceptible than others. If the fisherman is not aware of the sharks condition or how to swim a shark to revive them, the animals will most likely drown. It is wonderful news that sharks will not be strung up on docks as mere weight added in for a win, but there are still great strides to be made. Kudos to Key West for making a move in the right direction.

Key West Fishing Tournament

Hooked On Sharks

It amazes me that in this day and age people still have an absolute belligerent disregard for the environment. The old excuse, “ we didn’t know,” no longer serves as justification (not that it ever should have). I have written about Bimini before and its history as a big game fishing Mecca. Sadly, what we consider a monster fish has shriveled over the generations, as humans have devastated the oceans. The black and white photos that were seen on the wall of The Complete Angler (Ernest Hemingway’s old haunt for drinking and thinking) and now on the walls of The Bimini Big Game Club, are a thing of the past. Tuna longer than the average man and gorgeous marlin, larger than most sharks are not something our grandchildren will see or know. As pictures fade, so do the memory of what the ocean was.

After our week on the dolphin boat we stayed on the island for a few extra days and decided to rent a boat to do some exploring. Our friends Dony and Michelle joined us as we set off early in the morning, with a day on the water ahead of us. As we cleared the channel and headed south Dony spotted a large black trash bag on the surface. He suggested we grab it because it might be a million dollars from a drug drop. “ That’s how they do it,” he insisted.



Money or not we motored over to pick up the trash that someone felt the need to dump in the ocean. We pulled up and he wrestled with the bag. There was a piece of fishing line attached and we assumed it was stuck on the bottom. Typical boaters trash; bait scraps and used bits of fishing line. Dony struggled a bit and Duncan took a turn on trash removal duty. He quickly realized that the tugging was not from being hooked, but from a shark that was hooked on the end of the line. Throwing the boat into neutral we went into shark tagging mode.

I grabbed gloves and pulled the massive 9ft nurse shark to the surface. Dony and Michelle were in awe and quickly grabbed the cameras. I held the shark steady while Duncan looked for a tool to remove the hook. All we had on board was a small Leatherman, but we knew we had to get the shark off the line. I grabbed the dorsal fin in an attempt to secure the animal next to the boat and then put it in tonic. This healthy male nurse was still in good condition and put up quite a fight, wanting nothing to do with our effort to help him. I switched places with Duncan in order to get a tail rope on the animal and secure it next to the boat. There was no way I could safely hold him for Duncan to remove the hook, without having him secured at both ends. Duncan pulled him to the surface and with one strong roll the hook was free and he was gone. I admit we were pretty happy that we didn’t have to put the animal through anything else in order to free him. Nurse sharks are incredibly strong and without the proper equipment the task was set to be quite a challenge.

We inspected the bag and realized that this was not trash that accidentally attracted a shark, but a make shift shark fishing rig. The heavy-duty trash bag was tied in a knot and the high test fishing line was wrapped around and attached with a fishing knot. The line ran to a weight followed by another length of line and a J hook with a scrap of bait still on it. The equipment was good quality and looked to be brand new. We have encountered block rigs before on a site that is used for shark diving and research. The culprits had used car batteries and cinder blocks tied to wire leaders and large rusted J hooks. This was a different technique, but with the same goal of catching sharks. The sick part is that the “fishermen” might not even come looking for the bags. This leaves trash and an injured or dying animal drifting in the sea until it hooks onto a rock or washes onto shore. We looked around to see if any boats were nearby or watching us, but it was a busy weekend and there were boats everywhere.





We motored along heading towards our dive site and spotted another black bag floating at the surface. Duncan and I told our friends to be prepared because we might find something on the other end that wasn’t as happy of an ending as the last encounter. The bag was near a site that is frequented by Caribbean reef sharks and on a line these sharks stress very easily. Dony grabbed the bag as we brought the boat alongside it. Happily there was nothing but a half eaten piece of bait on the other end. We were all on a natural high from having saved a nurse shark and preventing another shark or large fish from meeting its demise. We also hauled 2 massive bags of trash out of the water. I have to admit it really was a rush to defeat some idiot’s sick mode of weekend entertainment, most likely fueled by alcohol and an audience of idiots, and see an animal return safely to the ocean.

We examined the trash contents and found items that cannot be purchased on the islands. Bimini is small and it is easy to know what you can and cannot get there. This trash was brought over on a boat and that meant the culprits were most likely weekend warriors from Florida. It is one thing to use a rod and reel to catch a large fish, but to damage the environment so recklessly, enrages me. Who knows if they ever intended on finding the bags or if this was just an attempt to rid the oceans of some sharks for fun? It is easy to see that their target species were sharks because of the equipment used. Our excitement turned to anger and frustration. What is wrong with people? Is normal fishing not exciting enough? I am not here to oppose fishing, but I will speak against the devastating method of capture that we pulled from the sea. Again, are we still so ignorant, despite the amount of information we have access to?

We did not see any other bags that day, but we all wondered how many were out there and how many animals were caught and tangled at the moment. We asked around another bag had been spotted, but people assumed it was trash. The Bahamas survive on fishing as part of the economy, but they do not need people coming in and destroying everything they see. Out of season fish, undersized fish and conch and this ridiculous fishing technique. This was just on one busy weekend on one island. In my experience most real fisherman are big conservationists. They want to see the ocean thrive, so that they can share it with their children and grandchildren. They respect the rules, the take and size limits and are often big proponents for catch and release. I am not chastising fishing or fishermen, but I am speaking to the heartless idiots that felt the garbage technique was an acceptable activity. I hope that someone how this gets back to them or someone on the boat. What you did was wrong! Please respect the ocean. Consider your actions and think about what your children would think. Is it really worth it?