Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Shark fishing contest under fire

|
|
 
  
Published: July 16, 2008 at 7:52 PM

OAK BLUFFS, Mass., July 16 (UPI) -- Animal rights activists are protesting a Massachusetts shark fishing contest, saying the event results in "destructive exploitation" of animals.

The Humane Society and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals wrote a letter to Boston Big Game Fishing Club President Steven James, asking him to cancel the 22nd Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament, The Boston Herald reported Wednesday.

The tournament is set to begin Thursday, the newspaper said.

"These are just cash-driven tournaments resulting in the destructive exploitation of these sharks," said John Grandy, of the Humane Society of the United States.

"We ask that the HSUS please leave the science of fishery management to the experts and scientists ... who are specifically chartered with managing and rebuilding the North Western Atlantic shark stocks," James responded.

James added that U.S. recreational and commercial fishermen should not be blamed "for the overfishing done in other parts of the world."

Topics: Steven James
© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade The making of the Oscars
The Chicago Auto Show The Most Desirable Women of 2012 Tu Bishvat Migron settlement
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 30
Valentine's Day Ramallah, West Bank
View Caption
fark
You step out of a shower and find a man snoring in your closet. What do you do? 1. Scream? 2. Run...
Sean Penn blasts Britain for not handing Falklands back to Argentina. That'll teach them
NASA budget slashes Mars funding, leaving future exploration prospects up to a duck with a speech...
The Seedy, Scandalous History of Valentine's Day
Some of the creepiest trees around that you do not want to stumble upon while under the influence...
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is getting an abortion in the Season 9 Comics. All I got was a lump of...