Shark Free Marina going after Mark the Shark

CBS 4 just did a report on the Shark Free Marina initiative and how this group is trying to convince the marina where Mark the Shark showcases his trophies to become shark free - they are considering it.

This is definitely some good press for the initiative and hope it will get the program more exposure and give Mark a headache.

As for Mark the Shark - time to look for a new park spot - or better yet - change your business plan.

At the end of the segment the report make reference to Shark Free Marina being responsible for the Ft. Myers tournament become a catch and release event.

The team of Shark Free Marina have contacted us already to mention that CBS was erroneous in their reporting and have given credit where it is due on their site.

By them coming forth - I am hoping no one in the shark tribe becomes upset - after all that would just confirm the ego problems we have in this little community...this should solely be about the sharks anyway.

Only a dead tiger shark is a good tiger shark .....

..... is what ignorants believe.

I would have thought that Mark Quartiano who calls himself "The Shark" would at least be knowledgeable about sharks. He has been hunting sharks for the last 40 years, and probably considers himself a shark "expert".

Well, let me tell you, Mark is certainly a proficient shark hunter but he knows next to nothing about his prey.

I wrote him recently to find out whether he would consider diving with sharks with me one day, hoping that such an experience would turn the killer into a conservationist.

This is part of his reply to me:

"Thanks for your offer...but I never get in the water with sharks....and the last time I checked Tiger sharks accounted for most all shark fatalities in the world..."

I just don't understand guys like him. Mark has been into sharks for decades - and he would never get in the water with sharks? He is probably not the only one. I am sure Australian born Vic Hislop, definitely the most infamous shark angler, is also terrified of 'man-eating' sharks, and would never snorkel or dive with them.

Poor guys - they must have too much testosterone to even imagine what they are missing....

Mark's business is to feed on people's fear of sharks; mine - if I can call it a 'business' - is to show that sharks are not dangerous, not even the big ones.

Mark will never convince me that what he does is right; he, in turn, would simply refuse to even try to look at sharks the way I do. Too bad...

Here are two images that reduce the irreconcilability of our positions to a graphic impact:

Playful tiger shark - alive and bad?
Photo: Amanda Cotton

Crucified tiger shark - dead and good?

14-Foot Tiger Shark Reeled In Off Key Biscayne

So the good news does not last long at all...Mark "The Shark" Quartiano has done it again. This time he killed a 14-ft Tiger shark right off Key Biscayne. Don't really have much to say - it is becoming exhausting writing about the same bullshit over and over again...I tried to contact Mark last year to meet and talk about year of the shark, etc. - while he did respond it did not lead to anything...interested in any ideas on how to change this guys perception and attitude toward sharks.

"South Florida boat captain Mark "The Shark" Quartiano, a captain who has fished off Miami Beach for more than 30 years, has reeled in a whopper of a shark.

On board his charter boat, Striker-1, Quartiano caught a 1,200 pound, 14-foot long Tiger Shark Tuesday morning. The shark was caught in about 30-feet of water just off Key Biscayne.

He says it's the biggest Tiger Shark he has seen in all of his years of fishing off the South Florida coast."

Here is a video: http://cbs4.com/video/?id=76714@wfor.dayport.com

I believe this is at The Biscayne Bay Marriott Marina - maybe they should become a shark free marina?