On July 21, we reported on the recent "Shark Fishing Ban" at Delray Beach, Florida. Since then, we have learned more about the evidence presented the Delray Beach city commissioners that led to the ordinance. Apparently there were allegations that shore fishermen were slaughtering Sharks on the beach. There were also allegations that dead Sharks were found on the beach left there by the shore fishermen. None of this has been proven. Photographic evidence of slaughtered Sharks that was shown to Delray Beach city commissioners has been proven to have been improperly represented. The photos shown were either decades old or were not taken anywhere near Delray Beach. It cannot be substantiated, but it can be inferred that this is the reason why at the last minute the Delray Beach city commissioners altered the outright Shark Fishing Ban to only really have teeth as a beach chumming ban. It is known that most of the known Shark Fishermen at Delray Beach are of the catch-and-release variety. While, we at The Chum Slick can never endorse Shark Fishing of any kind, it has to go without saying that catch-and-release fishing is preferred over the kill-for-a-trophy variety.

To twist this turd of a story up even further, it is alleged that one of the conservationists who used the shoddy photographic evidence to sell the fishing ban to the Delray Beach city commissioners is commercial cageless Shark dive operator Jim Abernethy. What is the big deal about Jim Abernethy? He is the operator of Scuba Adventures whose Shark Diving safety measures or lack thereof may or may not have been responsible for the death of Markus Groh in February of 2008 in the Bahamas. What does one thing have to do with the other? Nothing directly. It is just a bit goofy that a man who has made his living chumming for Sharks commercially, is using the public safety of chumming for Sharks at the beach as a platform.

So allow us to clarify our position on the Delray Beach Shark Fishing Ban issue.

We will always...ALWAYS be against the killing of Sharks. And we are not big fans of catch-and-release Shark fishing. Still, rather than pissing off a bunch of catch-and-release shark fishermen--people who are already hip to the fact that killing Sharks is wrong--with an outright Shark Fishing ban, wouldn't it have been more prudent to enact a SHARK KILLING BAN AT DELRAY BEACH? This way the catch-and-release boys could get on board with the new regulations and at the same time police their own hobby reporting any grievous offenders. Just imagine what would happen then if some jackass landed a Shark on Delray Beach and then tried to keep it. I bet a bunch of catch-and-release boys would convince the jackass otherwise...and I bet their brand of convincing would be, uh...a bit more convincing then a town ordinance.

--Sharky