Mote Marine Laboratory and The Humane Society of the United States Laud Upcoming Ultimate Shark Challenge
(March 16, 2010) —The Mote Marine Laboratory and The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS) are pleased to announce that the Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge, a novel and progressive catch and release tournament, will begin with a “kick-off round” on April 30th, 2010 to be followed by a Grand Championship Finale that will take place May 21-23 in Sarasota, FL.
Sean Paxton and Brooks Paxton II (The Shark Brothers) and Dr. Guy Harvey, scientist, conservationist, and founder of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, are sponsoring this event. Joining this team is Dr. Robert E. Hueter, director of Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research; Ray Judah, Lee County Florida District 3 Commissioner; John Land Le Coq, co-founder of Fishpond USA; Luke Tipple, director of Shark-Free Marinas; and various other supporters. This effort is joined and endorsed by Dr. John Grandy, senior vice president of The Humane Society of the United States, who sees this as a pioneering effort to reduce the killing of sharks, and to increase awareness about the plight of sharks, while furthering valuable shark research.
This event signifies an important and historic milestone by bringing together those from the scientific, business, fishing, and humane communities jointly speaking out for shark protection. By promoting responsible catch and release tournaments and calling for an end to traditional kill shark tournaments, the Ultimate Shark Challenge leadership team hopes to set a new standard for responsible marine stewardship.
Sharks will be photographed live when they are caught and measured and their catch and release will be the subject of live video feed back to the docks so that spectators can share the excitement of a safe offshore release. The sharks will be caught using circle hooks and measured and tagged using tail snares and special equipment provided by AFTCO Manufacturing Company. These procedures will be employed to avoid injury to the sharks and to promote safe, humane release. All individual sharks will be tagged, with satellite and/or conventional tags designed to enhance shark survival, and released by Mote Marine Lab’s shark research program in partnership with Florida Gulf Coast University. No sharks will be killed, or subject to destructive invasive procedures, and they will be immediately released at sea.
By promoting the Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge as a way for sport fishermen to participate in the conservation of shark species, we hope to inspire other tournaments to take this approach as well. Sharks are vital components of the marine environment and commercial kill shark tournaments contribute to their decline. We hope that this upcoming competition will become a “next generation model” regarding future shark fishing tournaments.
Poaching:
Sharks are imperiled worldwide. According to the World Conservation Union, approximately one-fifth of the 547 species of sharks and rays evaluated are considered threatened with extinction.
Threshers, tigers, makos, and blue sharks are all targets of kill shark tournaments, with the porbeagle shark being one of the most depleted.
There is still insufficient information available to evaluate the status of about 100 of these species, many of which are also caught in kill shark tournaments.
Media Contact: Liz Bergstrom, 301-258-1455, ebergstrom@humanesociety.org
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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization — backed by 11 million Americans, or one of every 28. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the web at humanesociety.org.
