It’s time the Florida Shark hunter begins to expose this avalanche of shark over- fishing and predator protection propaganda for the nonsense it really is. The real danger to public safety along coastal shores is not only from the marine predators and the dangers they pose but from the liars and profiteers who spread unsubstantiated claims in the name of Ocean Harmony. Shark fishermen and shark fishing in the United States and around the world are, and have been, under attack by the two-legged sharks for far too long.
The Florida Shark Hunter is particularly in jeopardy of extinction. And unsuspecting tourists who enjoy saltwater activities are also at risk of a shark attack if this flow of continued shark fishing regulations is not challenged. If the public looks closely at the Florida Shark Hunter’s list of two-legged sharks and their ilk, they will see how their agendas are not conducive to human safety:
1. George Burgess, curator of the so-called International Shark Attack File, can and does manipulate his reports to favor his shark protection propaganda. Seeings how he is paid (your tax dollars at work!) by the federal government to go out on fishing boats as a “watcher” to ensure shark fishing regulations are adhered to, he profits from these bogus shark fishing restrictions. He is never challenged by independent scrutiny, until NOW!
2, 3 and 4. The National Marine Fisheries, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), all promote unprovable claims of declining shark populations and then dictate what fishing regulations must be implemented to Save Predator Sharks! And the public has no vote as to how their tax dollars are being spent! I should point out that both The National Marine Fisheries and NOAA have been threatened by law suits from environmental groups such as the National Audubon Society, The Ocean Conservatory and, my favorite, Earth Justice! God help us! Me thinks these three extremist groups need to be more concerned with clean air – they’re polluting mine with their gas.
5. The International Union for Conservation of Nature -IUCN as they call themselves, boasts a mixed bag of global hippies hailing from several European countries: Switzerland, Holland, Spain, Denmark. Do they have sharks in Switzerland? Anyhow this group of environmentalists authors the World’s Red List of threatened species of anything living. Insects are included, I suspect. These tinkerbells, excuse me, I mean researchers, gather around the hashish pipe -sorry, I mean the round table searching for anyone who will listen, proclaiming any country that shark fishes to feed its population, like Spain, Argentina, Asia, New Zealand, China and Japan, will cause global extinction of sharks. They suggest everyone abandon their cultural cuisine and become vegetarians or risk being black listed as uncooperative nations! Excuse me while I roll around on the floor laughing!
6. One of the newest of the two-legged sharks is Larry Groth and his Shark Safe group. This self-proclaimed predator protector is currently trying to save his image after jeopardizing two scuba divers in a near-fatal cage collapse after a great white shark charged it. Larry profited from shark feeding expeditions. He then set his sharks free to jeopardize unsuspecting surfers and swimmers that have to contend with aggressive sharks now recognizing that humans mean food.
7. Jim Abernethy; I can’t let this guy off the hook (no pun intended) either, but he was responsible for getting tourist Marcus Groh killed while diving without protection on Jim Abernethy’s Scuba Adventures. Mr. Abernethy also feeds predator sharks for profit, then lets them swim away to threaten other unsuspecting humans. Let’s ring the dinner bell on bathers and more divers!
8. Dr. Bob Hueter of The Mote Marine Laboratory. This guy’s a real gem. He gets reports from fishermen of schooling sharks approaching bathing beaches and says nothing until somebody gets killed. Like he did during Summer of the Sharks when Florida had a spike in shark attacks. THEN he states to a St. Petersburg reporter, “I had a premonition. I had an uncomfortable feeling something was going to happen.” Really?? I ain’t done with this guy, presently I’m investigating a shark attack that Dr. Hueter and his labbies might know more about than they care to admit….
9. We must not forget the countless city and county commissioners who keep quiet and ignore the danger when confronted by the guys flying ads over beaches and see schools of sharks within a shell’s throw of bathers. One father filed a lawsuit in Daytona Beach because his daughter lost her leg after someone warned at a commission meeting that there were huge schools of sharks off shore. The response: “warning people about sharks is like warning people about lightning storms.” Three people got attacked as a consequence of this ignorance.
10. The list could go on but this Florida Shark Hunter will conclude with a group of extremists who call themselves The Shark Specialist Group. They use vague words like ‘could’ or ‘might’ to deter their accountability. They claim a third of the world’s open water sharks (like the oceanic white tip shark, found in nearly all oceans worldwide), face extinction, according to their unverifiable survey. They go on to claim the loss of sharks could have an unpredictable impact on the world’s eco system. They also claim 100 million sharks are caught every year. Also an unverifiable tidbit, why not claim 200 million, or 300 million?
Let’s face it, folks, we have to do something about these people before any more of our economy is unnecessarily wiped out and more people fall victim to shark attacks. I hope to convince survivors of shark predation and fishermen losing their livelihoods, that the only way to stop the insanity is through legal action. These extremists must be held accountable for spreading lies! Public safety and livelihood should be what really matters. I intend to make a difference before it’s too late.
See you in court!
Captain Bill Goldschmitt