From a conservation standpoint, all shark deaths are cause for concern, since many populations of the once-prevalent fish have plummeted to worrisome lows. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List, tiger sharks are "near threatened" and have experienced declines due to shark finning and other fishery-related depletions, such as when the sharks become bycatch in other targeted operations. Lee Poston, a spokesperson for World Wildlife Fund, told Discovery News, "It is tragic when any shark is lost, as so many are incredibly endangered now." Poston did admit, however, that the tiger shark encounter was "a pretty incredible story." He hopes the "popular image of sharks as vicious killers" won't be fueled by such a rare event. Burgess further urges that spear-fishermen "only take as much as they are going to consume." With traditional recreational fishing, he said there is always a catch and release option. This enables participants to spend time enjoying the activity, while only killing a small number of fish. "Catch and release isn't an option with spearfishing," Burgess said, "so it requires even more selective activity." Although Clasen and his companions say they symbolically took a bite out of the dead tiger shark, given their commitment to only killing for food, the species is not considered desirable for its meat. "It's a very poor eating shark," Burgess said, deadpanning, "I doubt the spear-fishermen spent much time at the dinner table that night." Related Links: |
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