Posted by Interested In The Bahamas on April 27, 2002 at 07:24:56:
In Reply to: Shark Slaughter posted by Disgusted on April 25, 2002 at 06:57:27:
You know, it is amazing how ignorant some folks are. "What about the kids??????" Parents will think nothing of letting their children play on the beach when lightning bolts are crashing nearby. Someone mentions the word "shark" and they freak out. How many of you personally know someone who has been bitten by a shark? How many of you know someone who has been killed by lightning? How many people were killed on Abaco last year in car crashes? How many people were killed in Abaco by sharks? How many people were killed in Harbour Island by sharks? How many people were killed on Eleuthera in car crashes?
I have spent a LOT of time beneath the surface of Bahamian waters, spearfishing. The only time any shark has ever paid the slightest bit of attention to me was when I couldn't get a dead fish out of the water fast enough. They were simply following their instincts. I have been in clear shallow water with my young son on many occasions when sharks were feeding in the area. I'm still here and so is my son. We simply enjoyed nature at its finest.
: The 12 ft long hammerhead shark that has been cruising the harbour for the last few months will be seen no more, thanks to the appalling actions of Mario Grant.
: The shark was hooked up 'for fun' by a thoughtless tourist and landed on the boat ramp by Valentines. This beautiful, graceful, and endangered fish was then shot in the head with a 12 gauge shotgun by Mario. When the once magestic shark was cut open she was found to be heavily pregnant. Inside her were 31 perfectly formed baby hammerheads with no more than a week to go until they would have been born.
: Thanks to the incredible ignorance of this man I will never again have the pleasure of seeing this shark swim around the marinas eating the fish carcasses discarded by the visiting sport-fishermen, and thanks to him I will never get to see her babies grow and develop.
: What a sight the lucky tourists witnessed - a barbarian needlessly slaughtering a rare and beautiful endangered creature.