“We want to protect the sharks and the public,” said Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Division Captain Rebecca Hartman. Trophy fishing for large sharks was in vogue for decades. The officer said he would come to the scene, but failed to arrive. Shark scientist Alison Kock said that several international conventions protected great white sharks, which were classified as being vulnerable to extinction. - Cape Times, © 2020 Independent Online and affiliated companies. If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Many anglers are wondering if they can catch a white shark but, as a top level predator critical to the marine ecosystem, white sharks are protected.”. Over the past few years, anglers fishing from piers and beaches in Southern California have caught, and usually released, great white sharks on scores of occasions. But it was hardly an anomaly. google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8270553620784211"; I was pretty emotional because this happens frequently. But all these guys know exactly where to catch them. “This happens every year, when the white sharks spend more time close to shore, with little enforcement, because no one is prosecuted.”. Most of the sharks observed off Southern California beaches are sub-adults that typically feed on fish. In former years, avid fishermen caught Great White sharks not only for personal glory but for the tremendous battle these huge Great whites would give. Its blood had pooled in a hollow in the rocks. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. There have been several reports of anglers hooking great whites off local piers, including a 12-footer near the San Clemente Pier on Monday, an incident that caused beaches to be shut down for the day. google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8270553620784211"; Lifeguards, surfers and swimmers worry that an aggravated shark hooked and let loose could injure nearby ocean users – something that unfolded in 2014 in Manhattan Beach when a shark bit a nearby swimmer after being hooked by an angler on the pier. Not just anyone can catch great white sharks. While fellow researcher Enrico Gennari, director of Oceans Initiative, phoned law enforcement, Johnson rushed to the beach. Johnson says he is unable to say whether it will survive. In 2007, she was selected for a prestigious Knight New Media fellowship focusing on digital media at UC Berkeley, where she learned skills to adapt to the ever-changing online landscape. google_ad_height = 600; /* ad in article */ //-->, ,
