==================================================
Sorry no audio available
==================================================
I’m going to try to present some of this weeks happenings in this Blog Post. To let you know that sometimes a person should be cautious even when they believe themselves to be right!
When I did a Blog Post on our Yarmouth County Blog last week I did not foresee things heating up quite as quickly as they did!
The Yarmouth Shark Scramble is, I believe, a valuable asset to our community. Organizers tell me it brings in about half a $500,000 in spin off monies to the local area each year, all the meat is sold and used for human consumption, and funds from the sale of meat go to help local civic and non-profit groups. Thus it is something that does contribute greatly to our local area.
To simply abandon the shark Scramble would definitely have a negative impact on the local economy. Yet, would be protesters are yet to bring forth any viable replacement for the Yarmouth Shark Scramble. Mainly making emotional appeals and little supporting it’s claims with actual fact. Thus there needs to be intelligent discussion and some real facts and figures to support, or protest, the Shark Scramble.
Thus I’ve spent a lot of time seeking that information and the truth about the impact of the Shark Scramble on both the Shark population and the local community.
I’ve contacted the Yarmouth Shark Scramble organizers and I’m still waiting for them to provide concrete evidence and some facts and figures regarding the Shark Scramble. I’ve also done a lot of research online about Sharks, Tournaments, and related information. As you can imagine this is adding to my already hectic schedule. So I’m inviting anyone who has real concrete information on these topic to send it to me. (Yes, from both sides of the issue).
Now having said that here is what I’ve discovered so far…
My first question was posed to me by friends who asked if the killing of Sharks purely for money was not like unto prostitution? Stating that I had not included anything but the argument based on money in my Original Post. (Which was a pretty valid observation). The other question was from a friend who was concerned with how the Sharks were treated and exposed when landed. So, seeking first those answers from my own experience and then from answers found within online resources I began to find the answers.
First of all, regarding the question of the shark Scramble only being based on money. I ask what would happen if any other commodity was instantly perceived without monetary value? The answer is like that whether it was fish, lumber, dairy, or other, it would obviously be less likely to make an impact on the community. Yet the Shark Scramble, whether you agree with it or not, does have financial benefits for the area. Thus ending the Shark Scramble without a viable alternative is to deprive the local business, tourism, and non-profit/civic communities of this financial benefit.
However, that was not enough of an answer for me!
I really had to think about the two questions and when I did I realized that for me, and likely the 200+ members of our new Support The Yarmouth Shark Scramble Group, and others there is more than monetary benefits to be derived from the Yarmouth (and other) Shark Scrambles!
To be honest, I’ve learned more about Sharks from attending the Shark Scramble than from any other source, anywhere present in my life, before attending the Shark Scramble!
I have always swam in the Ocean here knowing full well that there were not sharks here! (Other than Dog fish) Boy was I wrong!
I also believed that if there were sharks present in our waters, or any waters for that matter, I was at great risk when swimming in those waters! Boy was I wrong!
Thanks to the Yarmouth Shark Scramble I know there are Sharks in our waters and that they pose little risk for those of us who swim there!
I’m still not sure if I could accurately identify a shark by species, but I do know at least three of our local sharks by name and somewhat by sight. Those being the Blue, Mako, and the Thresher.
So, even for me a person who grew up in a fishing family, the Yarmouth Shark Scramble has more than monetary value!
I’ve been receiving and benefiting from an educational learning experience that both informs and dispels many of the misconceptions I had around Sharks!
Then there’s the question of the treatment of the Sharks. The truth of the matter is that what whether we eat we have to kill something. That is regardless of whether it comes from the Animal or Vegetable realm.
Certainly there have been practices in the past like “finning” that needed to be stopped. Finning was the practice of removing only the fin of the shark to be used in shark fin soup. Often the animal was left to suffer and die. This does not happen in any of our Shark Scramble Tournaments and has become illegal in recent times, as it should be.
The Shark Tournaments (Scrambles) that we have today make up for less than 5% of the over all catch and provide scientific data and tracking to help study and better manage the over all populations of Sharks.
The so called gutting of the Shark as seen on the wharf during the Scramble is done to help provide scientific data as to the diet and rate of growth of the sharks in our waters. This dissection being done publicly allows not only scientific data to be collected but also helps to provide further education to those in attendance.
I hope that this has helped shed some light on the matter and in days to come I’ll be trying to bring you more concrete data on Sharks, Shark Tournaments, and the Yarmouth Shark Scramble.
I know that in this Post is lacking factual references and one reason for that is I’m waiting to hear back from some of those who have been responsible for collecting this data and from those who are studying in this field. So I’m hoping to bring you more concrete information and cite actual reference material in future Blog Posts.
I have included some reference links below and if any of you have, or find, information regarding this issue I invite you to contact me in this regard.
It is my hope that at least this has been a beginning in helping people realize that there is more than just monetary reasons for holding the Yarmouth Shark Scramble. I believe the Yarmouth Shark Scramble is a Valuable Asset To Our Community.
==================================================
Sincerely,
Brian Hurlburt
customerservice@yarmouthcounty.com
==================================================
Helpful Links
Yarmouth Shark Scramble
Yarmouth County Blog
FaceBook Group Supporting Yarmouth Shark Scramble
The Canadian Shark Research Laboratory
Capt. Tom’s - New England Shark Species
Florida Museum of Natural History — Ichthyology Dept.
Sharks on Film
ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research