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'Killing is not conservation': Wildlife activists lash out against 'shark-killing' tournament in Florida

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that they were aware of the event but they cannot do anything to stop it

BY ARUNAVA CHAKRABARTY

UPDATED JUL 5, 2022

A shark hunting competition has caused outrage among wildlife activists (Photo by Maddie Meyer Getty Images and flyer by Corey Hexter/Facebook post)

A planned shark hunting competition that is supposed to take place in Jupiter, Florida on July 9, 2022, has created a major controversy and sparked outrage among wildlife activists. The competition has been arranged by the local fishermen. Fisherman Corey Hexter shared a flyer for the event on his Facebook account where he tried to lure participants to join the event. The participants were asked to pay $100 per boat and will even receive cash prizes for catching the top three heaviest sharks in the competition.

A petition has been filed on Change.org against the hosts of the competition, the WarBird Tournaments LLC. The concerned public members and the wildlife activists were furious with the post that Hexter shared on his social media. According to the state of Florida, harvestable sharks are limited to one caught per person and two per boat, but most people are in fear of the fact that these rules will be violated during the event.

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"This tournament is not about sustenance. It is about the thrill of the kill and fosters a lack of respect for sharks and their essential role in keeping our underwater ecosystems healthy and balanced. This lack of respect breeds poaching and other egregious acts. It also sends a message that it is okay to kill for "fun." Killing is not conservation," stated the Change.org petitioners.

Flyer posted by fisherman Corey Hexter on his Facebook account (Facebook/Corey Hexter)

OneProtest, which is an advocacy organization, has also filed a petition against the shark hunting competition and currently more than 110,000 signs on it. A local underwater photographer for the Ocean Rays Photograph, told WPTV, "We are scared of the damage to the ecosystem that this tournament will do. Sharks are incredibly important. They are apex predators that control the populations from the top down." While most people are against it, the organizers have a different explanation for it. According to them, they want to bring attention to the increasing population of sharks that are targeting their catch and threatening their industry.

Fish are seen washed ashore the Sanibel causeway after dying in a red tide on August 1, 2018 in Sanibel, Florida. Red tide season usually lasts from October to around February, but the current red tide has stayed along the coast for around 10 months, killing massive amounts of fish as well as sea turtles, manatees and a whale shark swimming in the area. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

One of the organizers of the event, Jason Warbird told WPTV "It's not even going to put a dent in the actual population that's out there," Warbird said. "We're only targeting the bull sharks species for the scale. Other than that, we also have a release division for the tournament. ... We're pushing really hard for a lot of releases." He claimed that it has become very difficult for him and other local fishermen to continue their work due to the surging population of sharks. "We can't get anything to the boat now without it getting taken by a shark," he said. Warbird also told that he finds all the protests against this event to be completely baseless as they have taken all the permissions and necessary approvals from the local authorities to organize the event.

A crowd checks out a 360 pound common thresher shark during the North Atlantic Monster Shark Tournament at State Pier 3 on July 15, 2017 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The non-profit tournament prides itself as an educational event, where crowds can touch the sharks before they are dissected by scientists and returned to the crew that caught them. (Photo by Maddie Meyer Getty Images)

Forty boats have been registered to participate in the event and it keeps on increasing every day. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that they were aware of the event but they cannot do anything as they do not have the power to stop or take any legal action against the event. Emily Abellera, a spokesperson for the FWC, told Newsweek: "We are aware of an advertised shark-fishing tournament scheduled for southeast Florida on July 9. Fishing tournaments in Florida do not require approval by the FWC; however, they must comply with state and federal fishing regulations. As fishing tournaments do not require permission from FWC, FWC does not have the authority to 'cancel' fishing tournaments. FWC does not sponsor such events but may communicate with tournament officials regarding marine fisheries regulations, best practices, or opportunities for scientific data or samples to be obtained through tournament activities."