Keith's Corner
My Mission Statement
I created this web site for many reasons. The most important reason was to create a way to bring all fellow shark taggers together, putting our ideas and thoughts together, and helping to encourage more people to become responsible fisherman. As you may or may not be aware, our shark fishery is being depleted by irresponsible fishing on all levels. Sharks are very susceptible to over fishing due to their slow reproduction rate. If sharks had a reproduction level like Tuna, we would have a completely different ecological balance. Based on studies male Makos cannot reproduce until they are three years old, and at six feet long. A female cannot reproduce until she is six years old, and eight and a half feet long, and only giving off a half a dozen live birth every other year. Since these sharks only live until about nineteen years of age, this only allows for her to give birth to about six litters.
I have found that the power of voice, and setting an example has been the most effective way to change the minds of fisherman that do not tag and release. Since I started shark fishing, I have tagged and/or released over one thousand sharks, and have kept four for myself. The personal rewards that I have gotten from tag and release have far outweighed the pleasure of keeping a fish. Releasing these sharks is a wonderful feeling, and you feel the thrill of the fight too. I am not a "tree hugger" but I do believe we need to learn to manage our fishery in order to maintain it for future generations to enjoy. Can you imagine what it will be like if our children are only able to catch Mackerel? Well, it will happen if we cannot turn around the depletion of sharks. For those of you who have been fishing for many years know and see the difference in the fish populations. It is incredible how it used to be as opposed to today. We are already feeling and seeing the effects of a depleting fishery; the abundance is nothing as it used to be. Together I would like to help turn this around. I would like to see more people get involved in the tagging program. With the data that we can provide from tagging sharks, we are able to help give the scientists and biologists the information they need to understand the resource and be able to make the right decisions on management. This includes the commercial fisherman too! I want to increase awareness amongst our fellow fisherman, changing their thinking, and promote responsible fishing. It all starts right here. What you say and do plays a part in the future of our fishery. I would like to see this web site grow and become a positive link to fishing responsibly. To have all shark fishermen come together and be a part of an incredible tagging program is really the perfect goal!
Some of you may ask why I keep some sharks. Some of you may believe in not keeping any sharks at all, that is great! I would like to take a moment to explain to you my beliefs, and the guidelines of which I fish within:
First of all I only keep males. I never keep a female shark! I believe that the shark fishery works much like the beef industry. Only one bull is needed for many cows. I never keep a male shark under 100 lbs. By keeping only large males over 100lbs and at least 6' long, I get a lot more meat, thus saving a lot of pups for the future. I personally believe that it is more productive to take one large fish instead of 10 small ones, leaving nine pups for the future to reproduce. I never keep a male shark if I already have meat in the freezer!
The last shark I kept was the 402lb male Mako. The crew and I utilized every piece of that shark as much as possible. We split up the meat between four families, which will feed us for a long time. The spine and internal organs were given to science for study and research. The spine will be helpful in determining the age of the shark. As soon as I get all of research results back, I will post the information on the site.
I was able to donate the internal organs to science through the assistance of John Ugoritz at the D.F.G. He has been most helpful and informative. John is always assisting me with my ideas, and giving me the tools to work with. I created a sling, which you will see in shark shots, to weigh live sharks in. I came up ith this idea in order to obtain more accurate data, and it also helps to measure and sex them a lot easier. John supported me in this idea, and now the DFG are weighing sharks on their annual cruises. I suggest that everyone who is involved in the tagging program or would like to be, talk to John. He has helped bring the competitive edge to the program to make it more exciting for us. Last year John invited me to join them on the annual DFG long lining cruise for four days. I was able to assist in weighing live sharks for more accurate data retrieval, and learn more about what the scientists and biologists need from us taggers. I watched them take take tissue samples in order to take DNA tests, and much more. It was a very rewarding experience. I hope that I can share my experiences with you through this web site, and you can share yours as well with everyone.
So enjoy the Shark Tagger web site, and lets work together to help restore and increase our shark fishery. Spread the word, encourage, and keep on tagging and releasing. I have an area on the page for your ideas and suggestions; I would love to hear from you. I will continue to do my part in conservation, and try to make this web site exciting and interesting for you. It is my goal to be able to triple the amount of taggers in the tagging program by this time next year. I hope that it will be a very challenging prospect to be on the top ten tagger list for 1998, and I wish you all luck in this shark season.
Any money that is earned on this web site via the classifieds, sponsorship, or any sales, will be used for maintaining this site, and increasing the awareness of shark conservation through my television show, West Coast Sport Fishing Show, or through my fishing efforts. I promise to continue to be a positive voice in conservation, and will continue to strive at changing the thinking of recreational fisherman. Thank you for your support.
Tight Lines!
Keith Poe "Shark Tagger"
