Madam, – Yet again we have the publication by The Irish Times of a photograph showing the pointless killing of a fine fish by an angler, this time a specimen sixgill shark (Home News, June 19th). This shark could easily have been photographed by the angler and then allowed to return alive to the sea, providing a victory for conservation and for the Irish economy at the same time, as anglers would rush to capture such a fish again. Instead, we have a magnificent fish killed and reduced to unwanted, distinctly unpalatable meat on a slab in Carrigaholt.
When are some anglers in Ireland going to come to the conservation and commonsense table with clean hands? The Irish Times can help by desisting from the publication of such photographs, instead of endorsing the voluntary “catch and release” policy practised by many anglers in this country. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – While I congratulate Joe Waldis as a 70-year-old to catch a sixgill shark off the west coast, and while it may be a record catch, it is also unfortunately a record shame to kill such a fine specimen. There was no need to kill this shark, it could easily have been photographed and released back to the deep where it belongs.
These sharks have been observed moving into water as shallow as 30 metres (100 feet) during parts of the year in some locations. It is not yet known why they do this.
Since they do venture into shallow water, fishermen are killing them for sport. But because of their low reproductive rate, they can easily be overfished. This has resulted in them earning a “near-threatened” status on the global list of endangered species. But because we know so little about their populations, many scientists believe they could be in even greater danger of extinction.
Who cares if it is the biggest catch on rod and line in these islands? – Yours, etc,