Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
“Sustainable fishing” is a term that seems to be popping up more and more these days. It’s usually used to reference a particular fishery and whether or not the actions of the participants in that fishery are making a negative impact on the population of whatever species they’re fishing for. Obviously, if you’re a fisherman it’s good to be involved in a sustainable fishery, otherwise your days of doing what you’re doing and catching what you’re catching are numbered, and one of two things are going to happen - either some entity is going to regulate that you “stop that!” or whatever critter you’re catching is simply going to cease-to-be. Neither alternative is a very good outcome for the short or long term.
Whether or not a fishery is sustainable is the result of how efficient fishermen are at catching their quarry and how many fishermen are actually trying. If a species is easy to catch, but there are very few fishermen catching them, it might not be any more of a problem than if the fish were hard to catch and lots of anglers were trying – either way it’s good for the fish. On the other hand, an unsustainable fishery would occur where the fish come easy and lots of fishermen are plucking away at them – certainly not something any fish would want to be a part of, particularly if they have dreams of seeing their little grandfishes off to school someday.
I don’t want to hurt anyone’s ego here, but rarely are recreational anglers blamed for creating an unsustainable fishery, because even though there are a lot of us, we’re really not all that good at catching the huge numbers of fish it takes to make much of a lasting dent in populations. We certainly play a part, but when you consider the recreational catch to the numbers of fish taken by the commercial industry, in a lot of fisheries our contribution to the demise is pretty insignificant.
But once a population has been rendered down to an unsustainable level, it really doesn’t matter who put it there, at that point the important thing to focus on is what can and must be done to bring the numbers of fish back to where they need to be. Even if we didn’t create the problem we all have to be a part of the solution. The best bet is not to let things get out of hand in the first place, and with good science, regulations, compliance and enforcement that shouldn’t happen. Unfortunately, it does happen because having a management plan that has all four of those qualities firing at the same time is usually more of a dream than reality. Sustainability is a tough goal to reach in any fishery.
I bring all this up now because Delmarva’s shark season is just getting started. Already, angler’s chum lines have lured in makos, threshers and lots of blue sharks. With average water temperatures now around 60-degrees, I expect it won’t be long before sandbars, duskies and a few other species will start showing up as well. These days someone would have to be living under a rock not to be aware that shark populations around the world are in peril. Thanks to an insatiable demand by certain Asian countries for shark fins, sharks are being caught around the world in numbers far greater than these animals are able to reproduce. Globally, the shark fishery is a poster child for an unsustainable fishery and if things don’t change and shark populations aren’t allowed to rebound, the health of our planet’s oceans could be compromised. Yea, it’s “that” important!
Things are better for sharks here in the states because we have at least some measure of regulations to help conserve the ones that travel through our waters. The problem is, since many of these sharks are very migratory, after they leave our coastline they too often end up in the uncontrolled waters of other countries and before they know it they’re floating around in a bowl of shark-fin soup at a Chinese wedding.
The average U.S. citizen can only do so much to help sharks outside of our country. They can vote the right people into office, don’t support countries that are major players in the uncontrolled shark-fin industry and support conservation groups working on the problem. However, as recreational shark fishermen we have even more power to make an impact on shark populations and that impact can be positive or negative depending upon our own ethics and level of concern for the health of the resource and desire to help ensure a sustainable fishery.
First we have to recognize that recreational shark fishing is pretty much a catch-and-release fishery, because even if a group goes offshore with a primary goal of bringing home a shark for the freezer, they’re only allowed to keep one per-boat and in the process of trying to catch that one shark, they’ll likely land a number of others that will either be too small or not the right species. Since the number of sharks released each year by recreational anglers is quite significant, the importance of those fish surviving the catch-and-release process cannot be overstated.
The good news is that, at least on the outside, sharks are pretty tough birds; with their tough skin and a skeleton of cartilage that can withstand a beating that would be the end for other fish. The bad news is that their insides are not so tough and when over-stressed during long fights or if impaled in the gut by a deep-set hook they might die even after what anglers think was a healthy release.
Anglers can minimize these issues by using circle-hooks to avoid gut-hooking, keeping fight time to a minimum by using appropriate tackle and fighting techniques, not removing sharks from the water and never lifting or dragging sharks by their tail.
As a director of the Ocean City Shark Tournament I was questioned last year by a number of anglers who were skeptical about some of the new rules we put into place that added a higher level of conservation to our event. Increased minimum sizes meant less sharks would be brought to the dock, and the requirement that only circle-hooks be used meant that the sharks released would have a better chance of survival. It was a win-win for sharks, and even though some anglers might not realize it, it was a win for them as well, because with so many of them being schooled for the first time about the effectiveness of circle-hooks and safe handling and release techniques, the effort brought us all a couple small steps closer to the goal of sustainable shark fishing and the perpetuation of our sport.
This year the same conservation measures will again be taken in our tournament, and thanks to the continued support by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation for our Release Division, the prize money in that category has been raised by yet another $4,000 bringing it to a total of $19,000. Add to that the expected payout from the added entry levels and it’s easy to see how the incentive to release is going to be stronger than ever this year.
U.S. recreational fishermen cannot be blamed for the demise of shark populations around the globe, and while most of us don’t have the means to travel abroad to help put an end to it in other countries, we certainly have the power to at least make life better for those sharks that swim within our boarders. Short-sighted anglers who claim that it’s too much of an “imposition” to change their tackle and technique just to help save a few sharks should stay out of the fishery altogether. It’s that kind of thinking that has put today’s shark populations in so much peril. Those who limit their harvest and fish with the tools and desire to help ensure that what they release will swim off with the best chance for survival will be doing their part to help make shark fishing sustainable.
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
