News for Florida animal advocates

Last Thursday, the Destin Deep Water Shark Tournament began. On the first day of the 4-day event, five dead sharks were brought to Destin’s docks. One 11-foot tiger shark was gruesomely hung-up on display for a gathered crowd.

The event is Destin’s first shark tournament since 1995, when it was halted due to concerns about the declining shark population (shark populations have not recovered).

During the cruel and senseless tournament, sharks will be hooked and stabbed . . . for nothing more than a trophy!

Even if some fishermen release smaller sharks, the injuries caused by hooks and gaffs (large, pointed hooks used to pull fish from the water) often lead to death.

Sharks are essential to the ocean ecosystem, and shark tournaments contribute to the continuing decline in shark populations. Even a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman told the Associated Press that he was “concerned about a resurgence of the tournaments.”

Sharks need to be protected, not slaughtered in tournaments that encourage inaccurate and harmful images of sharks.

The event in Destin is one of only a handful of shark tournaments that happen each summer in the United States (Key West also hosts several shark tournaments each year).

Vote in the Northwest Florida Daily News online poll, “Should the tournament be discontinued?” To vote, go to http://www.nwfdailynews.com and scroll down to the middle of the page to find the poll.

Please contact Destin’s mayor and urge the city not to support the shark tournament. Let him know that the tournament is a black eye for the community.

Mayor Craig Barker
City of Destin
4200 Two Trees Road
Destin, FL 32541
E-mail: council@cityofdestin.com
Fax: (850) 837-3267

The tournament is sponsored by the Destin History and Fishing Museum. Tell the Museum’s Director that shark tournaments are one historical event that should never be re-created.

Destin History and Fishing Museum
Jean Melvin, Museum Director
P.O. Box 548
Destin, Florida 32540
Phone: (850) 837-6611
Fax: (850) 837-6609
E-mail: jean@destinhistoryandfishingmuseum.org

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