The disagreement started to get ugly in
2007 when James, who claims he had previously
donated shark steaks not used for
research to a food bank, says the HSUS
intervened, asserting that the tournament
was not a licensed filet station. As a
result, anglers now keep all of the meat.

The HSUS threw up another
roadblock in May 2008. In what the
Martha’s Vineyard Times reported as an
attempt to move the tournament from the
town of Oak Bluffs, selectmen voted to
withhold the event’s liquor permit from
public lands (effectively limiting all
alcohol consumption to local bars and
restaurants). According to the Times, this
went against the spirit of an earlier nonbinding
ballot question, which had gone
in favor of the town continuing to host
shark tournaments, although it did reflect
a strong split in public opinion with a
vote of 458 to 386.

In September of 2008, the HSUS took
a different tack, filing a complaint with
the Massachusetts attorney general,
alleging that the event’s calcuttas
constituted illegal gambling activities. It
followed up the complaint by posting a
hidden-camera video on its Web site
showing the aforementioned scene of
HSUS photographer Nigel Barker (a
former judge on the TV show America’s Next Top Model) being escorted away by
police for trying to take photos of the
event. But it was another video posted to
the site depicting an Oaks Bluffs police
officer that raised the ire of some in the
community. While showing images of the
calcutta meeting, the video’s voice-over
chastened, “the betting took place under
the close watch of a local police officer,
[and] a percentage of [the] cash will be
paid out to Oak Bluffs’ police and Harbor
Patrol.” The Times reported that
payments were intended to defer additional
costs imposed by the tournament.

Maybe a record breaker?

Town selectman Ron DiOrio, who
voted against granting the liquor permit
and was previously opposed to the shark
tournament in general, called the video
“outrageous” and was able to get the
council to vote unanimously to pursue
the possibility of legal action against
HSUS. “They shot themselves in the foot
with that one,” James observed. Grandy
counters, “We’re backing off but we’re
not changing our stance.” He says he’s
focusing his efforts on creating sharkfishing-
free marinas in consort with some
tackle manufacturers, and that the HSUS
will continue its protests.

The 2009 turnout was down over the
202 boats that participated in 2008, but
James believes it was still a great success.
“To win this tournament is a lifetime
accomplishment,” he says, adding,
“Recreational fishermen will continue to
do their part in actively helping
conservation.”

The Monster Shark

So what started all the controversy?
This photo, taken at the 2005
Monster Shark Tournament of a
record-breaking 1,191-pound tiger
shark (a species no longer fished for
in the tournament) became the top
e-mailed photo during one week in
July of that year, according to Stephen
James, who runs the event. Dr. John
Grandy of the HSUS saw the
photograph, was outraged by the
treatment of the animal, and the
protests began.

This article originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.