Posted by Dr Andy S Leggett on May 02, 2002 at 04:42:08:
In Reply to: Re: Sport Fishing posted by To The Doctor (Dr Andy S Leggett ) on May 01, 2002 at 17:30:16:
If you were to scan the message board you would see that I also posted a paper warning of the over-fishing of grouper and conch. By no means did I claim that sharks are the only fish species in danger extinction. Rather, I responded to a posting specifically about the unnecessary demise of an endangered fish and attempted to show why the killing of sharks should be avoided where possible.
I agree with you that the killing of marlin during the BBC, or any other time, is unnecessary and shortsighted. I agree that long-lining and biomass trawling is emptying our oceans of fish, and that these actions are going to have an incredibly negative impact on the future of the marine environment and, subsequently, humans' ability to feed ourselves. So that is the big picture. How do we as individuals try and reverse, or at the very least slow down what appears to be the inevitable destruction of the habitat that accounts for 71% of this planet? For a start, we can refrain from killing fish that are endangered.
In response to other points raised:
1. I have never killed a marlin, nor been on a boat that has raised a marlin. The closest I have been to a marlin is when one was sighted on a dive here 2 months ago.
2. Whilst I have yet to jump in the water at James Point, I have dived at Grouper Hole and had 3 bull sharks, each no less than 7ft long, pass by - one of them came within 10ft. They were curious, but not aggressive.
3. I apologise if my observation that Mario Grant acted out of ignorance was taken to be an insult. I was merely giving him the benefit of the doubt in assuming that he killed the shark because he incorrectly assumed that it presented a real threat to the lives of people on the island - i.e. that he was unaware of the fact that hammerheads do not mistake humans for their regular prey. To perform a bad action with good intentions is unfortunate but excusable.
If Mario Grant killed the shark knowing that it did not in fact pose a real threat, then his act would have been malicious and inexcusable.