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12 foot mako shark? Good riddance
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Splash! Magazine franklin@gulfbreezenews.com
I recently purchased a sea-faring, sit-on-top kayak and I am glad there is one less 12-foot, toothed monster lurking just beneath the waves.
A group of anglers recently caught and terminated a 12-foot, six-inch Mako Shark that was feeding on porpoises, or so the story goes. The crew was cobia fishing when they spotted the animal leaping out of the water and attacking a pod of porpoises, and said they were not very far off shore.
Most local shark specimens are easily outnumbered and fended off by dolphins and porpoises because the mammals typically hunt in groups and sharks are more solitary animals.
The captain of the boat was quoted as saying that the shark they captured showed no fear of her 23-foot boat and the battle with the fish was something like a scene out of the 1975 blockbuster film "Jaws."
Some bleeding heart, tree hugging, shark bait liberals have commented that what the group did was barbarous and a crime against nature. They said the fishermen (and woman) should have just snapped a couple of pictures for their family photo albums and then kindly gone about their business.
As the new owner of a small ocean going vessel, I strongly disagree. These brave souls did the community of Pensacola Beach a great service by destroying this animal.
Don't get me wrong; I have a deep respect for the natural world, that's one of the reasons I bought an environment friendly kayak and not a gas guzzling johnboat.
The animal truly was an exceptional specimen and would have made an excellent addition to any aquarium, but seriously, they said it was EATING PORPOISES and was VERY CLOSE TO SHORE. It was only a matter of time before swimmers started going missing.
Haven't these so-called "naturalists" seen jaws?
My kayak and I will stick to the rivers and the lakes that we're used to for a while.
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