I was eight years of age when I watched the movie Jaws and it wasn’t until seven years later that the situation was to be turned around through shark sportfishing. Soon after seeing Jaws, I was scared to go into the water. A few months later, I noticed they would not come close to you in shallow waters unless you’re in a movie or really unlucky. However for years, I felt that sharks were generally better than humans. That sharks kill humans but not the other way around.

Imagine my euphoria when I figured out that the hunter can in fact become the quarry. I was 15 when I figured out I can go after sharks and I’ve been hunting them since that time. It’s like payback for my younger years lived in fright of the shark casting off my limbs, letting me expire slowly, but definitely.

I really enjoy shark fishing. I don’t know if it is because I know I can be superior than the shark or because it’s just enjoyable. But while I really like being superior to the shark, it wasn’t enjoyable when I saw images of how Taiwan fishermen were killing hoards of “biologically vulnerable” sharks. These are sharks which are a bit of weaklings, not exactly the Jaws type.

The Taiwanese shark fishing is for the fins to maintain the Chinese specialty of utilizing shark’s fin for a delicacy. The thing is, I loved shark sportfishing but I don’t do it commercially. It was an activity that would take 1 shark per week or perhaps 2. Destroy 1 for food then put back 1 to live and to make babies.

If you see the photographs obtained by the Pew Environment Group, you want to think twice about going shark fishing. It’s really horrible, taking a look at those de-finned and bleeding sharks left to the side of the highway. Some are even thrown back into the sea to die. These fishermen are monsters. They ought to be tossed into the sea.

It brought to mind images taken in Japan of fishermen eradicating dolphins and whales in shallow waters to supply the sushi industry. Tsk, tsk. Many Americans just love sushi, me, included. But when I saw that picture, I just quit consuming sushi.

As for the professional shark fishing, the Taiwanese Government promised to create stiffer laws on this. It wasn’t mentioned how but what was definite was that de-finned sharks should not be tossed back into the ocean.