Skinnee I know when I worked at a commercial dock on wadmalaw Caleld Cherry Point, that a commercial fisherman can not just fin a shark and then dump it. He has to clean it and sell the meat. There is a market for shark meat but it is not as pricey as fins or other commercial fish. If it is just a carcass like the back bone and skin then that is legal but if he cut the fins off and head then dumped the body then that is illegal. If you go to any federal wildlife and fisheries website and search shark finning you will read about the legalalities (sp) of shark finning.
I hope I helped you out.
Interesting. I don't keep up on that stuff myself, but this guy has a pretty good reputation of going by the book from what I have heard about him. That's why I am curious.
I don’t know the gentlemen but in the picture it looks like there is an LEO there standing on the dock. If he has a good reputation then I can’t imagine him doing anything to jeopardize his lifestyle. Most of the times a DNR guy will come to the dock everytime a shark fisherman docks to match fins to sharks. We had a guy who was alway getting fined for not having the proper shark fin to match up with shark.
From reds to marlin you got it.
2001 210 Sea Fox
2009 Yamaha F150
Note that the law dictates that you cannot dump the carcas at sea. It makes no distinction about what you have to do with the carcas after you bring it back to port. The fact sheet seems to also imply that this rule does not apply to state waters.
Although it sounds funny… The intent of the law was not to force you to do something with the rest of the shark. It was to essentially to force you to land the entire shark and to take up cooler space until you got back to port to limit your ability to get as many fins.
Note that the law dictates that you cannot dump the carcas at sea. It makes no distinction about what you have to do with the carcas after you bring it back to port. The fact sheet seems to also imply that this rule does not apply to state waters.
If i am correct when you enter state waters the term “waste of fish” is put into affect which does not allow you to dump gamefish that is edible. I am not clear on the current rules but I am sure a gamewarden posts on this webiste and it would be nice to hear what the exact rules are.
The reason the guys in Texas got busted was because it is against the law to kill a gamefish and then dump it because their is a rule against wasting gamefish.
From reds to marlin you got it.
2001 210 Sea Fox
2009 Yamaha F150
why would you want to kill somethin so big only to dump it back…just take a few pics and let it go if youre not gonna eat it…thats a shame if u ask me… i feel sure you could donate that meat to somewhere rather than just drop it back in the water
Sells,
Do they normally take the tail off too when they “fin” a shark? Also, is there a market for shark fin in Charleston? They’re normally dried and reconstituted later, at least the ones I’ve seen.
The two sets of pics are different sharks. The pic that someone else posted is a shark that was apparently fin’d and discarded in the harbor and he found it in the harbor already fined. The pic that I posted, bonsai caught the shark offshore, among many others, and drug this one in by the tail and then hoisted it up where I took the two pics above. These are two seperate sharks. I believe the one I saw was caught offshore legally and when it was hoisted it had all its fins in tact.
Finned or caught legally and hung up by the dock…either one is a waste. I will never understand killing a shark just for bragging rights and a few pictures.
“Never argue with an idiot…he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.”
I am glad to know this tiger will not eat me. 23 Sailfish said I look mighty tasty when I am in the water… not sure what he means.
xHCFKx
I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in
a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. – Winston Churchill
