Subject: FISHING & CRUELTY

From: Craig Arfman <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 1996 11:42:40 +1300

>Markus Medak wrote:
> 
> Just curious, why did you fish for thousands of days if you think it's
> so terrible, and why in the world did you work as a deckhand (I know 
> it couldn't have been the money--seems to pay little above minimum 
> wage considering the hours you work)?

The only excuse I can offer is that for a long time I just didn’t 
know any better. When I started fishing at age seven, I asked the 
same question a lot of children ask, “Does it hurt the fish?” My 
father assured me fish were different, they couldn’t feel pain 
and that was that. Over time I grew desensitized the sight of  
fish with torn mouths, gills and stomachs, bleeding, thrashing and 
dying. I learned that it was a “Sport”, and that I could even win
trophies and praise for doing it.

A decade later when I worked on the “Sport” fishing party boats, 
I still didn’t think there was anything fundamentally wrong with it,
 although I was uneasy with some of the gratuitous cruelty I witnessed: 
passengers killing birds for fun, and crew shooting seals to protect
 “their” fish.

> How could you write articles for sportfishing magazines if the idea
> of sportfishing is so abhorrent to you?  

I have written for four fishing publications and for seven years 
was associated with the publication, New Zealand Fisherman.  
During that time I wrote many articles and letters to the 
editor on the subject of hooking mortality, and avoiding the 
unnecessary destruction and suffering associated with some 
fishing practices. It was my hope that a frank and honest 
debate would allow amateur fishing to reform itself from 
within and clean up its act. 

It is to NZF’s credit that they were willing to publish 
dissenting viewpoints such as mine. However eventually 
pressure from advertisers and  
major “Sport” fishing organizations as far away as Hawaii 
and Florida, caused NZF’s editor to inform me that he was 
unwilling to publish any more articles relating to ethics 
or questioning the concept of “Sport” and that Animal Rights 
was absolutely off-limits as a topic. I have since resigned my
association with NZF.

What we are seeing here IMHO is “Sport” fishing institutions 
running scared from the possibility of an open and honest 
debate, and trying to keep the lid on it for as long as 
possible. It appears they will cling as long as possible to 
the premise of a “Sport” based on “fighting” a fish that 
can’t fight back. Most non-fishers will recognize this 
fallacy, and it’s worth noting that non-fishers outnumber 
fishers by a wide majority, despite all the talk of 
“Sport” fisher’s voting power.

> I've also worked on sport boats as a crewmember all through high shool
> and college, and while I've seen a couple of the things you mentioned
> (hooking seagulls attempted once), I think you're presenting a very
> skewed view of the average sportfishermen. 

Having fished in many situations and countries, witnessed 
many atrocities, and met many fishers as either crew-member 
or journalist and heard their attitudes, I don’t think I am 
presenting a skewed view of “Sport” fishers. While “Sport” 
fishers come from all walks of life, I think it’s inevitable 
that when you group people whose common bond is enjoyment 
of an activity that kills, wounds and maims animals, you 
end up with a group that is skewed from the overall population.

> As long as the crew has firm grasp on what is acceptable behavior and
> what is not, the majority of the passengers will not get out of line.
> Just my $0.02 worth,
> Markus

Often it’s the crew that gets out of line. While working on a 
well-known “sport” fishing boat off the Mexican coast, I 
watched the captain shoot a seal through the nose. Since 
this was highly illegal, he stayed on the top deck and used 
a .22 rifle rather than a high-powered rifle so that the 
passengers busy fishing on the bottom deck wouldn’t notice. 
The passengers didn't notice the shot or the seal shaking it’s 
head in agony 100 meters away, doomed to a probable slow and 
painful death. 

Guns often play a big part in the “Sport” fishing scene. 
I recall listening to a well-known Australian fishing guru 
brag about how he liked to blow away seabirds which were 
stealing fish scraps from his berley-trail. 
“Adds more flavour” he’d said. 

I witnessed a fatality of gun-happy “Sport” fishers, being 
carried off the aptly-named party boat, “Fishin Fool” on 
a stretcher. One of the crew was having a good time 
blasting sharks from the top deck and as he tracked one 
with his rifle a passenger’s head got in the way, as he 
fired. That incident is documented in The San Diego Union, 
if anyone cares to check it out.

After seven years of trying I have little hope that 
amateur fishing will make any progress in eliminating 
practices which are destructive, cruel and have no 
useful purpose. Following is a not-untypical response from 
a “Sport” fisher.

>Subject: RE: FISHING IS CRUEL - FURTHER EVIDENCE
>Date: 17 Apr 96 03:30:14 -0700
>From: [email-masked] (Steve Pearson)
>Organization: The Microsoft Network (msn.com)
>Newsgroups: alt.fishing
>References: <[email-masked]>

>Hey Ho: >All this crap about fish feeling pain ASSUMES that I even GIVE at
>shit if they feel pain...I don't.  Now go bother someone who DOES
>give a shit.

>Stevie Pee

Usually the response from “Sport” fishers, and their institutions, 
is a bit more subtle, such as “not proven” or “not an appropriate 
topic for discussion”. Stevie’s response is just a bit more honest 
than most.

The unnecessary destruction and cruelty caused by “Sport” fishers 
doesn’t come from using barbed hooks instead of barbless hooks, 
or come from using treble hooks instead of single hooks, 
or come from using light line instead of heavy line, 
it comes from the heart.
- Craig Arfman

---

From: Ron Morgan <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 1996 08:39:23 -0500

> I witnessed:
>  ³their² fish.

> or journalist and heard their attitudes, I don¹t think I am
> presenting a skewed view of ³Sport² fishers.

> - Craig Arfman

You are basically full of shit, and I wish you would quit flooding this newsgroup with your childish whining. I have been a 
fisherman for over 40 years, inshore and offshore, freshwater and saltwater, in camps, in my own boat, on charter boats and 
party boats, on all three U.S. coasts. I have never, NEVER seen ANY of the events you describe.

One time I did see a seagull get hooked accidently. While the deckhand tried to remove the hook, everybody rushed up and 
gathered around, frowning with concern over whether or not the bird could be saved (it was, by the way).

Your descriptions of people "blasting away at sharks" with guns is sheer fantasy. Firearms aren't even allowed on party or 
charter boats.

And whatever "cruelty" you DID see is nothing compared with nature. I guess you never saw a bald eagle holding down a fish 
with one foot, while tearing little chunks out of it with its beak, or doing the same thing with a rabbit, eating it alive, 
one bite at a time, while the captured animal screams in horror.

I remember seeing a film of two sharks. One was feeding on a whale carcass. The second shark was busy tearing football-sized 
chunks out of the first shark, which continued to feed on the whale carcass as if nothing were happening. 

You are a typical animal-rights extremist who can not tolerate reality, but sustain yøur own little fantasy world, in which 
you are some kind of self-proclaimed knight in shining armor. Like all of them, you do this stuff to serve your own 
emotional needs, not because you are truly knowledgeable and/or concerned about the subject. Now please go away.

Ron Morgan
[email-masked]

---

From: Craig Arfman <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 13:37:20 +1300

> Your descriptions of people "blasting away at sharks" with guns is sheer fantasy. Firearms aren't even allowed on party or

Ron, you are in very bad need of a reality check. The incident of a 
passenger who was shot in the head by a crewman shooting sharks is
DOCUMENTED, in the San Diego Union newspaper, and no doubt at the San 
Diego coroners office. I have photos of crewmen shooting sharks from 
"Sport" fishing boats, and also photos of passengers stabbing sharks 
with a knife attached to a pole as they swim past the boat. You may see 
these photos some time in the future as I will be forwarding them to 
Animal Rights groups, along with some very interesting video footage 
documenting other deeds of "Sport" fishers. 

Having been in New Zealand the last 10 years I'm not sure what the law 
is re firearms on party boats, but when I worked on the San Diego party 
boats in the 60's and 70's it was the rare boat that did NOT carry a 
rifle, shotgun or both.

---

From: [email-masked] (Steve)
Date: 2 May 1996 02:19:24 GMT

All this and you sat and watched it happen without doing anything about it but 
talk about it on the Net?  You ought to ba ashamed!

-Steve-

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] says...

---

From: [email-masked] (David L Evens)
Date: 2 May 1996 17:16:10 GMT

Craig Arfman ([email-masked]) wrote:
: Ron Morgan wrote:
: > 
: > > I witnessed:
: > > passengers killing birds for fun, and crew shooting seals to protect
: > >  ³their² fish.

: > You are basically full of shit, and I wish you would quit flooding this newsgroup with your childish whining. I have been a
: > fisherman for over 40 years, inshore and offshore, freshwater and saltwater, in camps, in my own boat, on charter boats and
: > party boats, on all three U.S. coasts. I have never, NEVER seen ANY of the events you describe.

: > Your descriptions of people "blasting away at sharks" with guns is sheer fantasy. Firearms aren't even allowed on party or
: > charter boats.

: Ron, you are in very bad need of a reality check. The incident of a 
: passenger who was shot in the head by a crewman shooting sharks is
: DOCUMENTED, in the San Diego Union newspaper, and no doubt at the San 
: Diego coroners office. I have photos of crewmen shooting sharks from 
: "Sport" fishing boats, and also photos of passengers stabbing sharks 
: with a knife attached to a pole as they swim past the boat. You may see 
: these photos some time in the future as I will be forwarding them to 
: Animal Rights groups, along with some very interesting video footage 
: documenting other deeds of "Sport" fishers. 

Ah, you have some fakes as good as the usual ARA fakes, so you're going 
to make sure they get into wider circulation.  How much are you being 
paid for your creativity?

: Having been in New Zealand the last 10 years I'm not sure what the law 
: is re firearms on party boats, but when I worked on the San Diego party 
: boats in the 60's and 70's it was the rare boat that did NOT carry a 
: rifle, shotgun or both.

Ah, you must have started out with 8mm film.  Nice stuff, very easy to 
fake with.

--
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Ring around the neutron,   |  "OK, so he's not terribly fearsome.
A pocket full of positrons,|   But he certainly took us by surprise!"
A fission, a fusion,       +--------------------------------------------------
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