Sharks at the rodeo?

DESTIN. FL — Nothing draws a crowd like a shark on the docks.
   
And that’s what the 61st annual Destin Fishing Rodeo is hoping for this year with Shark Saturdays.
   
“It’s a legal fish to catch,” said Destin Fishing Rodeo Executive Director Helen Donaldson. “Hopefully, it will get some people on boats.”
   
That could be more important than ever. In recent days it looked like winter had hit the docks early as many of the boats sat in their slips. Chalk it up to a combination of school starting, a slumping economy and the Aug. 15 red snapper closure.
   
But the event, which is controversial among animal rights and environmental groups, also might draw protesters to the scales behind AJ’s Seafood & Oyster Bar.
   
“We want to do something persuasive, but pretty low-key,” said John Grandy, the senior vice president for wildlife and habitat protection for the Humane Society of the United States. “We want to find a strategic way to get it more than opposed and get it killed.”
   
Every Saturday during the monthlong Rodeo in October, anglers will have a chance to weigh in a shark. The fisherman with the largest shark takes home a $250 prize.
   
Shark Saturday will be an open category; there will be no special entry fee for registered vessels. The shark must weigh at least 100 pounds to be eligible and only one per boat per day can be entered.
   
Lemon and nurse sharks, and any other shark that is protected by the state or federal government are not eligible. 
   
Sharks that are fair game are bull, mako, tiger and hammerhead, to name a few.
   
A couple of weeks ago, the Fourth annual Outcast Mega Shark Tournament in Pensacola kicked off with bull and tiger shark brought to the scales.
   
“If the sharks weren’t out there, there wouldn’t be any tournaments,” Donaldson said.
   
But Grandy said regulators are behind the times when it comes to measuring the threat against the species.
   
“The fact is, their management system for sharks is in the dark ages,” Grandy said. “They manage sharks by where they live but not by the species. It would be like saying to duck hunters, ‘Just go shoot ducks,’ but not differentiating on the basis of various species.”
   
Grandy said that the International Union for Conservation of Nature declares that “virtually all species of shark are threatened with imminent extinction or vulnerable to extinction.”
   
But Rodeo organizers said Shark Saturdays won’t have a global effect and are a good thing for the community.
   
“And five shark is not going to change the course of history,” said Rodeo weighmaster and fisherman Bruce Cheves.
   
Cheves said he will have a radio during the Rodeo to help him keep tabs on boats that have a big shark onboard and whether they should bring it in. This would keep the number of kills to a minimum, even though sharks are plentiful, he said.
   
“If this fleet wanted to, they could catch enough shark to line up from Emerald Grande to the Destin Yacht Club,” he said. “There’s that many out there.”
   
Cheves said he knew of one boat that saw 18 sharks in five stops on a recent trip. “I don’t think that’s much of a shortage.”
   
The only feedback Donaldson has received thus far is: “Wow, that’s going to be fun,” she said. “No complaints ... yet.”
   
But opponents say they still are forming an attack plan and point to their track record of sinking such events. The Humane Society is quick to take credit for scrubbing the Destin Fishing and History Museum’s longtime shark tournament, which reemerged in 2006 but was eliminated under protest in 2007.
   
“I think we caused a sea change,” Grandy said.
   
As for Shark Saturdays, “They are just using it, for want of a better term, as a hook to get people there,” he said. 
   
Regardless, the Rodeo is ready to roll.
   
“The merchandise has been ordered,” Donaldson said.
   
The Rodeo will set up its trailer in the parking lot at Half Hitch Tackle over the Labor Day weekend for those who can’t wait until October to get that signature cap or T-shirt.
   
If you haven’t registered for the Rodeo and a chance to get in on Shark Saturday, there still is time. Boats, charter and private, can register until the day before they weigh in a fish.
   
The Rodeo has four sponsors lined up for Shark Saturday, with one more needed. Northlight Yacht Club is sponsoring the first Saturday, and John Ledbetter and Associates has Saturday No. 2. Guy’s Glass has the fourth Saturday, and @2Z Specialty Advertising has Halloween night, the last Saturday. The Rodeo is looking for a sponsor for the third Saturday, Oct. 17.
   
“We’re excited about it and we’re just hoping to get more people on the water,” Donaldson said.