I
Ian Cloke
Guest
A monster shark caught off Guernsey would still be alive ? if only it had been smaller.
James Allen, who spent nearly an hour battling to reel in the 295lb porbeagle, said he would have set it free had it not been a record catch.
?We weren?t planning on keeping it but we thought that it must be a record so we brought it in,? said the 26-year-old. ?We would have thrown it back otherwise, because it?s only recreational fishing so I don?t usually think you should keep them.?
The creature was enjoyed by many islanders yesterday as Checkers sold it for ?2.99 per lb.
?I didn?t know what to do with it so I gave it to my mate who put it in his van and took it to Checkers.?
The supermarket?s fishmonger, Simon Newton, confirmed it had been a big hit with customers.
?We have nothing left,? he said. ?It?s been great and we?ve sold loads of it. It?s the fifth porbeagle we?ve had in two years and it always goes down well.?
The porbeagle is listed by Cites (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) as vulnerable to extinction.
The convention has three lists and the shark features in Appendix II, which sets out species that are not in current danger of extinction but could become so unless trade in them is closely monitored.
Guernsey Press angling correspondent Len Le Page said there were no commercial fishermen in Guernsey who fished for porbeagle.
?Fewer than 10 have been killed in local waters in the last 20 years. The French have killed lots commercially but I do not know of any Guernsey fisherman who fishes for shark intentionally,? he said.
?If we were killing 50 or 60 porbeagle sharks a week, I would say hang on but there are so few that are killed. The angling commitment for shark has been extremely low-key for many years and that?s not going to change.?
Jon Torode, senior sea fisheries officer for Commerce and Employment, said Guernsey followed the EU?s lead on endangered species.
?Porbeagles are a species that have been caught here for many years,? he said. ?I don?t think people target them any more and if Defra in the UK or the European policy on fisheries made a decision on them, then we would follow that.?
Marine enthusiast and educator Richard Lord said that people needed to be responsible.
?There was a big fishery for them in the 1960s,? he said. ?They have the best eating meat of any of the sharks. The listing of them as vulnerable is a fairly new thing and there are lots of responsible anglers in Guernsey, but there is a constant battle.
?I think everyone has to be responsible. I?m not for targeting them but I think it should be up to the individual?s choice.?
James Allen, who spent nearly an hour battling to reel in the 295lb porbeagle, said he would have set it free had it not been a record catch.
?We weren?t planning on keeping it but we thought that it must be a record so we brought it in,? said the 26-year-old. ?We would have thrown it back otherwise, because it?s only recreational fishing so I don?t usually think you should keep them.?
The creature was enjoyed by many islanders yesterday as Checkers sold it for ?2.99 per lb.
?I didn?t know what to do with it so I gave it to my mate who put it in his van and took it to Checkers.?
The supermarket?s fishmonger, Simon Newton, confirmed it had been a big hit with customers.
?We have nothing left,? he said. ?It?s been great and we?ve sold loads of it. It?s the fifth porbeagle we?ve had in two years and it always goes down well.?
The porbeagle is listed by Cites (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) as vulnerable to extinction.
The convention has three lists and the shark features in Appendix II, which sets out species that are not in current danger of extinction but could become so unless trade in them is closely monitored.
Guernsey Press angling correspondent Len Le Page said there were no commercial fishermen in Guernsey who fished for porbeagle.
?Fewer than 10 have been killed in local waters in the last 20 years. The French have killed lots commercially but I do not know of any Guernsey fisherman who fishes for shark intentionally,? he said.
?If we were killing 50 or 60 porbeagle sharks a week, I would say hang on but there are so few that are killed. The angling commitment for shark has been extremely low-key for many years and that?s not going to change.?
Jon Torode, senior sea fisheries officer for Commerce and Employment, said Guernsey followed the EU?s lead on endangered species.
?Porbeagles are a species that have been caught here for many years,? he said. ?I don?t think people target them any more and if Defra in the UK or the European policy on fisheries made a decision on them, then we would follow that.?
Marine enthusiast and educator Richard Lord said that people needed to be responsible.
?There was a big fishery for them in the 1960s,? he said. ?They have the best eating meat of any of the sharks. The listing of them as vulnerable is a fairly new thing and there are lots of responsible anglers in Guernsey, but there is a constant battle.
?I think everyone has to be responsible. I?m not for targeting them but I think it should be up to the individual?s choice.?
