Dan's Papers - July 3, 2009 -

While Star Island Yacht Club's 23rd Annual Shark Tournament drew crowds of hundreds last weekend, a group also protested what they called the "senseless killing of sharks" outside, on Star Island Road.

This shark tournament was held all day on Friday and Saturday, with a captain's dinner on Thursday night and an awards dinner on Saturday night. Despite the rainy skies, 140 boats participated in the hunt for the biggest sharks in different categories, including mako, thresher/hammerhead and blue sharks. This was not a tag-and-release tournament, but there were restrictions on the fish caught and brought in. The minimum weight on makos was 100 pounds, on threshers was 150 pounds, and on blue sharks was 250 pounds. Throughout the day, the boats came back into the dock to weigh their sharks, as huge crowds watched. At this tournament, biologists took samples of the sharks and measured them for research purposes.

The fishermen competed for prize money in many categories, consisting of about $450,000. This year, there were several local Montauk captains taking the big prizes. The biggest mako shark, 227 pounds, was caught aboard the boat, "Sea Wife," owned by Captain Tom Cusimano, of Montauk. The angler was Dale Darmante.

"We caught it about 25 miles Southeast of Montauk Point," Cusimano said. "It only took about 10 minutes to catch it - the fish jumped about three times out of the water, and we caught it on a live bluefish."

Captain Harry Clemenz, of Montauk, was aboard the "Runaway," which caught the winning 369-pound thresher shark. The angler was Costas Vlahakis, and the owners of the boat were John and Dennis Vlahakis. "It took us about an hour to get it into the boat," said Clemenz. "It was a good fight."

Taking first prize in the blue shark category was the "Lady Fin," where angler Nuno DeCosta took a 277-pounder. The captain was Stan Finguerra.

As a stream of cars and trucks were going in and out of Star Island Road all day to watch this tournament, they passed a group of about 30 people holding up signs reading, "Stop the Needless Killing," "Protect Our Sharks," and "Conservation - Not Killing." These people were from two groups: The Humane Society of the United States, and the East Hampton Group For Wildlife.

According to the Humane Society, which handed out flyers encouraging the protection of sharks, "Worldwide shark populations are in grave peril. Of the 547 species of sharks and rays that the World Conservation Union has evaluated to date, one fifth are considered threatened with extinction. Many of these species are found in U.S. waters and are targets of shark tournaments."

One of the protestors, April Gornik, of Sag Harbor, said, "I think we have to support our fishing community out here, and we're not against fishing to catch food-but I think killing as a form of entertainment and cash prizes should be over, especially when so many sharks are facing potential extinction."

John Gandy, senior vice president of the Wildlife and Habitat Protection Department of the Humane Society, said he is also against the tournaments. He said one group got the Fort Meyers shark tournament to go from an all-kill tourney to a tag and release one.

The East Hampton Group for Wildlife handed out fliers, which read, "Worldwide, humans kill 40 to 70 million sharks a year. Sharks kill an average of 10 humans a year." It also said that Blues declined by 60%, and threshers declined by 80%.

Bill Crain, president of The East Hampton Group For Wildlife, said his group started in 2004, and started protesting shark tournaments. "The needless killing of living beings glorifies killing for fun," he said. "Is it worth it to upset nature's balance, with all we know about how sharks help the ocean by cleaning out the dead and sick fish?"

Another fisherman, Captain Dan Becker, of Montauk, stopped and said he thinks shark tournaments are "a waste of gas."

"Killing potentially endangered sharks is ridiculous, and these sharks are a necessary part of our ecosystem," he said. "I think Montauk should be in the lead in stopping this wasteful unnecessary slaughter."

When asked what he thought of the shark protest during his weigh-in on Saturday afternoon, Rich Janis, general manager of Star Island Yacht Club, said, "I don't necessarily agree with their facts about sharks. You can get a survey to say whatever you want. We have strict restrictions on these fish, and out of both days' fishing, only 17 sharks were brought in, and 347 were released. These guys don't just do it for the money, but for the competition and they love fishing."

Elliot Gershowitz, whose family owns Star Island Yacht Club, said, "We fill up the all the motels and restaurants in Montauk during our tournaments - we're a proven source of revenue for this community."

He added that his tournament donates the blue sharks to the Long Island Council of Churches and that the captains keep the mako and threshers to eat.