Welcome to Sunday Spin, where I blog about life beyond the realm of writing.

Shark Photo courtesy of Terry Goss Photography.

Shark photo attributed to Terry Goss.

Last weekend my sister and I went to Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard to see our brothers and their families. All around the cape and the vineyard I saw posters protesting a Monster Shark Tournament that is being held this weekend. At first I thought the tournament was directly related to the incident where a shark trailed a kayaker off the coast of Cape Cod.

But, I discovered that this is an annual tournament held in Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard. This will be the 26th tourney.

I understand there are fishing tournaments of all kinds, and the shark tournament is classified as a fishing tournament. However, I can’t help thinking there is some sort of rage behind the hunt. It goes beyond pleasure or competition. And to me, that makes it wrong. The very fact people actively protest this particular tourney, and don’t protest fishing in general is a red flag.

I don’t know what the people do with the sharks once they’re caught. Perhaps they’re sold to restaurants? Sometimes, I see shark on menus. I do know that in the case of shark fin soup, only the fins are used and the shark is left to drown in the ocean. That is inhumane.

I don’t consider myself a fanatic when it comes to conservation. I mean, I enjoy my salmon, cheeseburgers, Thanksgiving turkey. But I don’t tolerate hunting for sport. And if that’s what is really going on behind the Monster Shark Tournament, then I side with the protesters.

Anyway, I found this cool site, Shark Savers, which educates people about the importance of sharks in our ecosystem. When you access the site, scroll down to the bottom to see a link where you can sign a petition to protect sharks. I hope you have fun exploring the site; there are some tidbits about mantas, too.

Don’t forget to check out the photography website of Terry Goss, too. Lots of wonderful images.

If anyone has more specific information about the Monster Shark Tournament that might shed some light, I would love to hear from you.

How do you feel about shark tournaments? Do you consider them humane or not?