Editor:

  The Humane Society of the United States was disappointed with the recent article on the 2008 Casco Bay Classic Shark Fishing Tournament (“Tourney raises money, protests,” Sept. 12).

   The article accepts the inaccurate assertion from tournament committee member Jeff Irish that “the sharks featured in the Sentry advertisement are native to the west coast.” This statement is wrong. The photos in our ad placed in the South Portland/Cape Elizabeth Sentry were taken by HSUS staff in the Northeastern United States. As the nation’s largest animal protection organization, we are careful to ensure in the course of our work that all the information we provide to the public is accurate.

The Casco Bay tournament also boasts of donating meat to two food kitchens. However, both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration advise against the consumption of all shark species by children and pregnant women due to the threat of mercury contamination. It is irresponsible to encourage the unfettered consumption of shark meat when it poses such danger to the public.

   Shark tournaments are bloody, wasteful spectacles in which some of the earth’s most ancient and threatened predators are unceremoniously hauled from the ocean and hung up for bragging rights and cash prizes.

   The HSUS is working tirelessly to promote shark conservation and end these tournaments that send a message that sharks are only valuable when they are dead.

John Grandy, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President of Wildlife and Habitat Protection

The Humane Society of the United States