N Y shark hunt attracts commerce, protesters

MONTAUK, N Y, June 18 (Reuters) In this Long Island fishing hamlet, hundreds of adults drank beer and children marveled at the bloodied sharks caught in a fishing contest, including a heart from a gutted 180-pound (82-kg) thresher shark that several children poked with awe.

A banner that flew overhead read ''Enter the Cruel Shark Tournament Now.'' It belonged to a smaller group protesting what they said was the killing on Friday and yesterday of a species that was already declining in number.

The small group of protesters, backed for the first time by a large US animal protection group, want to stop the shark-hunting tournament, one of the largest in the United States where the winner can take home more than 400,000 dollars in prize money and from bets placed among fishermen.

''This isn't about sport, it's about big money and big suffering of endangered animals,'' said John Grandy of The Humane Society.

''This is recreational slaughter done for cash prizes.'' Following a Humane Society campaign, a similar tournament in Florida was shut down this year. The society promised protests at other fishing hubs in Maryland and Massachusetts where, like Montauk, contests bring visitors and commerce.

Organizers refused to shut down the tournament and Sam Gershowitz, the owner of the Star Island Yacht Club which hosts the event, now in its 21st year, said it did not contribute to declining shark populations and instead educated the public.

''Fishing has been an important part of Long Island's heritage and economy,'' he added.

He expected 35 sharks to be large enough to be caught and killed. Federal guidelines dictate a weight for each type of shark below which they cannot be kept. Smaller sharks are released and any shark meat not consumed by the crews is given to the poor.

JAWS, THE MOVIE Shark species, including the thresher, mako and blue caught at the Star Island Tournament, have seen their numbers drop by more than 80 per cent in the past 50 years, according to WildAid, an international non-profit wildlife protection group.

Commercial fishing of sharks and the practice of slicing off shark fins and then dumping the animal overboard, which is banned in the United States, is largely responsible for the more than 70 million sharks killed worldwide annually.

''It's not these boats that are destroying our oceans, it's the long-haul boats that drag the nets,'' said Laura Steinberg, whose husband Barry brought in a 253-pound (115 kg) blue, which friends took pictures of with its guts spilling from its mouth.

''He has tremendous respect for sharks and is angry there are less in the water and he is being penalized for it.'' Frank Mundus, 81, a local shark fisherman who was selling his new book based on his claim he inspired the character of Quint for the book and 1975 movie ''Jaws,'' noted with the growing nearby protest, attitudes were changing.

''Twenty years ago they would have brought in 100 sharks with people shouting 'kill them all,' but now we are seeing some turnaround,'' he said, advocating circle hooks which give sharks which are caught and released a better chance of survival.

Others were unaware of the controversy, like Michael Stickney, 8, who stood near a tractor full of fins, shark heads and body parts.

''Cool,'' he said, taking home a shark fin in a plastic bag.

REUTERS RN RK0945