The Sport is Under Attack!
Florida Shark Fishing is making big news lately. Seems the thrill and challenge of battling top-of-the-food-chain, man-eating predators is not sitting well with those harmony-with-the-environment and faint at heart activists. It’s a shame these tree-hugging hypocrites who fatten themselves on steak and chicken and support abortion rights are squeamish about sports fishermen testing their mettle and risking their own safety to best a savage predator! Go figure, right?
Fact is, sharks kill or maim humans in many shark attacks worldwide. Three deaths in two weeks off Australia. A swimmer swallowed whole off the California coast. A dozen attacks in Florida so far this year, still counting and the summer tourists aren’t even here yet. I should also add that sharks eat each other, they are cannibals you know.
But those limp-wristed biologists don’t want mainstream public to remember the severed arm of Jesse Arbogast or the now daughter-less family of Jamie Daigle, so they instead emphasize the plight of those poor, over-fished, Bambis-of-the-Sea. Yes, Bambi, with very sharp teeth! These “experts” claim that 90% of the shark population has been killed already! They’ve been saying this the forty years I’ve been fishing! Three fourths of the planet is covered with ocean – who’s done the oceanic census? I wonder how they accomplished that feat.
Take the word of a former shark hunter: Florida Shark Fishing is what may become extinct if the shark fisherman doesn’t get organized. Big Money is on the side of those Florida Shark Fishing protestors and some don’t even know it, they’re just jumping into a cause to have a cause. The economy of this state is Tourism and that’s a fact. Pictures of fishermen with killer sharks off our Florida beaches is “bad press.” Just ask our Governor, Florida Realtors and their Chamber of Commerce buddies. These guys don’t give a damn about shark conservation; if biologists say sharks need to be protected, hell, they’ll agree! Let’s stop those fishermen! And those shark attacks? Bury them in the back of the newspaper with as little ink as possible. Our out-of-town visitors won’t read them. Maybe!
I’m telling you the facts, folks. Been dealing with these people for 45 years. Best of luck for Florida Shark Fishing. Your right to fish is under attack by two-legged sharks. You need support with clout, like the National Rifle Association before your tournaments become a thing of the past. Remember the Florida Fish and Wildlife and Conservation Commission – Mote Marine Laboratory and the Florida Tourist Industry are working together. Wow! Talk about same sex marriage!
Fight for your rights and good luck!
Captain Bill Goldschmitt
Sharkman of Cortez