Shark fans turned Oak Bluffs Harbor into Coliseum

By Nelson Sigelman - August 23, 2007

In July Oak Bluffs hosted the 21st annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament. I avoided Oak Bluffs the weekend the tournament took place and went fluke fishing. I was flabbergasted when I called Tim Williamson, Oak Bluffs Police lieutenant, and he told me an estimated 2,000 people showed up to watch the shark weigh in.

Beefy fishermen sporting gold fishing reels and gold watches (just an observation, not a criticism), blood-thirsty little kids, mostly boys who prefer real gore to video gore, tourists looking for a change of scenery and protestors philosophically opposed to the whole idea (of shark fishing, not gore-loving little kids) met up in Oak Bluffs.

For almost 18 years the annual shark tournament was a relatively simple affair. Then one day a photo of a real monster appeared in this paper and newspapers around the world - a 1,191-pound tiger shark.

The photo attracted the attention of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) - no minnow in the world of non-profits. According to the organizations 2006 annual report, HSUS had net assets of almost $200 million.

Three years ago HSUS launched a publicity campaign to convince Oak Bluffs officials to pull the welcome mat out from under the big game club. It posted information on its web site and urged its members to call and write local officials.

The HSUS web site provided a description of the campaign. The story begins: "Martha's Vineyard is the quintessential New England vacation destination, complete with quaint villages, charming harbors, and gorgeous beaches. People seeking respite have flocked to the island for generations to be greeted by friendly Vineyarders whose economy depends on the seasonal influx of tourists.

"But the idyllic island image cloaks a sinister ritual sanctioned by local officials. Each summer, entrants in the Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament hook sharks; bleed, suffocate, or repeatedly gaff them; and string them up on docks in gruesome, sometimes mocking displays - all for prizes and gory glory. In the 2005 tournament, some 240 boats hooked approximately 2,500 sharks and killed 46 sharks in the span of 3 days. In the 2006 tournament, stormy weather provided a partial reprieve; 26 sharks were killed."

Of course, HSUS grossly exaggerated the facts. As we all know, there are no greetings by friendly Islanders and the sinister ritual is not fishing, but trying to make a Steamship reservation.

However, the Humane Society did do a good job of convincing people that shark tournaments are a brutal spectacle. The full-page ads showing a shark hauled up on the dock and the banner critical of the contest towed around by an airplane the Friday and Saturday of the tournament obviously worked.

What HSUS failed to understand is that people in America love brutal spectacles. The aerial banner served as a reminder to people sitting on a beach who were not thinking of going to Oak Bluffs.

Hasn't the HSUS leadership checked out those so-called martial arts sporting events in which two guys beat, kick, choke, and head-butt the hell out of each other in a cage (I assume the cage is to protect spectators from flying body parts)? Haven't they ever watched Rosy O'Donnell and Donald Trump?

Do not misunderstand. I support HSUS efforts to create a more humane world. I simply think that their considerable resources need to be directed at better targets.

I support: eliminating obnoxious cell phone users (like the jerk I shared a freight boat cabin with who had a long loud business conversation business on his cell phone); a ban on any more TV news discussions about David Beckham or Posh Lice; political commentary from any celebrity dopes; drivers who tailgate while traveling at 65 miles per hour and above; and anyone over the age of 60 dressed in a multi-colored spandex bicycle riding outfit.

Bob Decosta, a Nantucket charter captain, and a group of his pals took first place.

The guys caught a 311-pound thresher shark on the first day. They caught a mako on the second day, but at just over 200 lbs. they knew it would not be big enough so they let it go. A short time later they hooked and caught the thresher that put them in first place.

Bob said he has fished in many tournaments and considers the monster shark event to be one of the best. He said that the minimum size limits are very high and the fact that blue sharks do not count for points goes a long way towards eliminating senseless kills.

"I find it somewhat hypocritical," said Bob, "that these people protest us in a tournament, yet they are not standing at the end of the dock when the longliners come in with boxes and boxes of fins that they just hack off of a shark and kick the body over the side when the fish is still alive."

Tournament organizers around the country, including those who run the annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, increasingly understand that conservation needs to be a part of any fishing tournament.

I am not a shark fisherman. It is not something that appeals to me. I am not even a fan of the monster shark tournament.

But I think HSUS employs the wrong tactics when it attempts to bully local officials and go after sport fishermen to force them to stop doing something they have every right to do.

The fishermen are fishing for species managed by state and federal fisheries regulators. It is a sport they enjoy.

There are sports I do not enjoy and find philosophically offensive, like curling, but who am I to say Canadians should not beat each other with brooms?

The actual number of sharks taken in tournaments across the country is miniscule when compared to the numbers taken by commercial fishermen, in some cases only for the fins. Instead of fighting with sport fishermen HSUS would do better to work with fishermen.

There are many examples of conservation groups working with hunters for the benefit of a species.

Fishermen have a vested interest in protecting sharks. Education, not scare tactics and pressure, is needed. For a good example one only needs to look at the striped bass, a conservation success story that would not have been possible without support from fishermen.

Nelson Sigelman is The Martha's Vineyard Times news editor.