Thresher Shark Questions

[Mr. NiceGuy]

I would like to know what the general opinions are amongst BWE members and kayak fishermen about catching thresher sharks.


1. Do they taste good?

2. Is this a common local fish, or are they part of the spectacular fishing conditions we've been enjoying for the past few years?

3. How long does it take our local species to grow into the 150-200 pound range?

4. Is it possible to sell the fins locally for shark fin soup?

5. Does anyone process the skin into leather?


I would appreciate hearing the opinions of others about catching this fish for their dinner table.

I also want to respect the sanctity of nature and I want to understand the sustainability of our fisheries, and of rebuilding the magnificent sea life ecology that once existed here.




_______________________________
SOME FOOTNOTES:

According to Wikipedia, thresher sharks are "highly vulnerable to over-fishing" because their fecundity is naturally low (ability to reproduce.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thresher_shark

Gestation is 9 months, and usually results in 2-4 pups. West Coast thresher sharks live up to 50 years.


Eastern Central Pacific (That's us)
Reported landings in the drift gillnet fishery for this species that developed off the west coast of the USA in the late 1970s, collapsed from a peak of 1,089.5 t in 1982 to less than 300 t by the late 1980s (decline of ~70%). This fishery was effectively eliminated by restrictions on the use of gill nets by 1990, and the population began to slowly recover to just below 50% of the initial subpopulation size. The Common Thresher Shark is still caught as bycatch or as a secondary target, although to a far lesser extent, of the swordfish gillnet fishery. It is clear that the species depends on adequate management measures, and would otherwise be at risk of overfishing. All this considered, the species is assessed as Near Threatened in this region based on significant population declines, which are now managed in US waters.
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/39339/0

[ful-rac]

Maybe....

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

I would like to know what the general opinions are amongst BWE members and kayak fishermen about catching thresher sharks.


1. Do they taste good?

Well, let me answer a question with a question. Do you think or like tacos de tripa, or menudo? What about buche?


2. Is this a common local fish, or are they part of the spectacular fishing conditions we've been enjoying for the past few yearse?

No, they are not local fish. Here's what I read on TMZ.....one day, a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away there lived a Princess. Wait. wait. wait......that wrong story.

3. How long does it take our local species to grow into the 150-200 pound range?

a gazilion years

4. Is it possible to sell the fins locally for shark fin soup?

I don't know but if you decide to sell it let us know how much you were paid.

5. Does anyone process the skin into leatheres?

yes, I have a thresher belt.


I would appreciate hearing the opinions of others about catching this fish for their dinner table.

hope you enjoyed my opinion

I also want to respect the sanctity of nature and I want to understand the sustainability of our fisheries, and of rebuilding the magnificent sea life ecology that once existed here.

....

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by jorluivil

Well, let me answer a question with a question. Do you think or like tacos de tripa, or menudo? What about buche?

Are you saying thresher shark is nothing special on it's own merits?

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

Are you saying thresher shark is nothing special on it's own merits?

Maybe....

[pingpangdang]

Here is footage taken in 2013...if I'm not mistaken this is the first time a thresher was actually filmed using it's tail to stun prey(don't quote me)...I think it was assumed prior to the filming. I think BBC shot this footage in the PI.

These are some cool sharks...

Here is the video:
https://youtu.be/lHoCCPsRuhg

[Mahigeer]

If you want to sell fish. Any fish, do you have a commercial fishing license to do it legally?

They are fun to catch though.

A bait under a big bobber is the rig of choice.

[FullFlavorPike]

This is what happens when you try to get too serious on the internet.

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by FullFlavorPike

This is what happens when you try to get too serious on the internet.

I don't mind ful-rac and his buddy jorluivil trying to torpedo my thread with their nonsense. If I ask questions they think are dumb or if they want to mock me, I don't mind. Let them have their fun. I've shoveled BS back at them a few times myself

This is an open forum of ideas and they speak for themselves. Sometimes their contributions are good and I have learned from them. Maybe we will meet in person one day and we can introduce ourselves. I might even offer to buy the first round of margaritas or cold beer after we land.

I'm a relative noob here. If I want to find answers I'll ask. There is a wealth of high quality information at BWE and I've met lots of new friends. My purpose is to decide for myself what kinds of fish I want to target.

If I'm going to take the life of a living creature, I want to try to think through the reasons and ramifications for what I'm doing. At a minimum I want to respect the fish I take home to eat by preparing them to the best of my ability and using everything I can down to the scraps as fertilizer for my garden. I prefer to target fish in moderation that are delicious, sustainable and from growing populations. I recognize there will be some collateral damage.

If thresher sharks taste like cat food or if their future survival as a healthy population is questionable, I would rather fish somewhere else or work on other projects.

I'm sure I don't have time to tan shark skin into leather. I read that thresher shark is good for this purpose. I've seen beautiful art made from shark and ray skin. The topic is interesting to me. I lack the time to explore another hobby in that direction.

As noted above, I'm pretty sure it's not legal to sell fins to a business. I was simply thinking that offering the fins to Asians who go nuts over them might be a higher value. I'm not particularly interested in shark fin soup myself. Maybe I should consult with our friend at fishermansbelly.com first.


Butt hay, that's just me. We all have to figure these things our for ourselves, right?

[DanaPT]

Yani did post something about this and I do recall a video of the assassin in action. This is a post with some Tshark and a couple of still shots of OTW cleaning.


http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...=yani+thresher

I've not targeted but want to. I think Id want a wing man just in case. For sure would try to dress ASAP.

[Aznronin]

Threshers kind of taste like swordfish. If you like swordfish you will like thresher steaks.

[Chuck D]

Do not ever support the sale of shark fin soup

[Murray]

Many folks love thresher and mako sharks for eating. Check out a local fish market on pricing to confirm. You will also see them on the menu at many fish restaurants. Most are juveniles in the LJ area if I am not mistaken. I used to fish thresher out of Oceanside and average was 200+ with some going close to 400.

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by Chuck D

Do not ever support the sale of shark fin soup

FWIW:

"Shark fins can fetch up to $650 USD per kilogram. A single Whale Shark pectoral fin can sell for up to $20,000 USD and a Basking Shark pectoral fin can fetch up to $50,000 USD."
http://www.sharktruth.com/learn/shark-finning/


"The majority of sharks caught for their fins are the blue sharks, threshers and hammerheads"
"Records from fisheries published in 2003 revealed that numbers of thresher sharks have fallen by 75% in just 15 years through overfishing."
http://www.theguardian.com/environme....frontpagenews






California ban on sale or possession of detached shark fins enacted in 2011 and went fully into effect in 2013.

Restaurants in violation of ban are being targeted
https://awionline.org/content/restau...oup#California

Appeals Court Dismisses Challenge to California Shark Fin Ban (July, 2015)
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/201...shark-fin-ban/

32 tons of shark fins seized at sea. This one 85' boatload of shark fins allegedly represents the death of 30,000 sharks.
https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/foo...ized-high-seas

More information on "Shark Finning" (cutting off the fins at sea and dumping the rest of the shark overboard)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_finning

.

[sanomick]

My two cents. Threshers are good eating
Threshers are really really strong - don't fish for them alone
Threshers are dangerous to catch on a kayak even if you are prepared - watch out for the tail and the jump.
They get really big and there is little chance of bringing a big one in on a kayak - 200# I"m impressed. any bigger and you will be out there for hours and probably not get them.
If you can find a copy of Fred Archers Book on threshers, It's a great read. He also shows how to butcher them.

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by sanomick

If you can find a copy of Fred Archers Book on threshers, It's a great read. He also shows how to butcher them.

$149 for 135 pages, eek!
http://www.amazon.com/Thresher-Shark...rcher+thresher

Supply/Demand - I can only fine one.

[dos ballenas]

Selling any sport caught fish is illegal....

Lots of local research is being done on t-sharks.....


https://swfsc.noaa.gov/uploadedFiles/Divisions/FRD/Large_Pelagics/Sharks/Thresher%20shark%20fact%20sheet-final.pdf



Sustainability Status/ Fishing Mortality

Based on analyses of productivity, CPUE, and catch data, fishing
mortality is estimated to be below the rate that would produce maximum sustainable yield; thus, overfishing is not occurring
(PFMC 2010)

Biomass is estimated to be above that required for maximum sustainable yield
and the stock is reportedly not overfished
(PFMC 2010)

Bycatch
Thresher sharks are taken incidentally in the swordfish DGN fishery.
Historically, there have been concerns about the level of bycatch of marine mammals and turtles in this fishery; however, after changes in fishing practices to minimize interactions with protected species, NMFS believes there is currently only a remote likelihood of incidental mortality or serious injury to marine mammals based upon the most recent information



www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/interactions/lof/


Common thresher sharks are also targeted by recreational anglers
(Heberer et al. 2010) The number of threshers caught annually by recreational anglers, including those released, is estimated from angler surveys and dockside interceptions.
Recreational catch varies widely from year to year but has averaged roughly 20 mt annually in recent years
www.pcouncil.org/bb/2008/1108/E3b_SUP_CDFG_1108.pdf
The estimated level of catch in this fishery may be imprecise because the fishery is patchy and sporadic.

[maquinapescado]

This is my opinion.........

I am against the harvest of threshers on our stretch of coast south of PC. A lot of threshers I see harvested do not appear to be of the age/size of sexual maturity.

The info below on the subject of reproduction is something I have heard and read in the past from other sources.

"Thresher sharks are slow to mature; males reach sexual maturity between seven and 13 years of age and females between eight and 14 years in bigeye threshers. They may live for 20 years or more" (wikipedia.com).

People are gonna do what they want regardless of anyone's opinion. I'm sure it is a difficult trick to land one from a kayak, but You won't get any merit from me for doing so (not that is matters).

Shark fishing is kind of like cat-fishing. If you put food in front of them, they will eat it. They aren't like yellows or WSB where you can have days where you will have every bait in the tank/tackle box in front of them and they just won't go.

Have fun with them while they are here.

[dmrides]

One of the coolest things I saw on my kayak was my mac getting tail slapped and then eaten by a nice sized thresher right underneath me as I was checking my bait. A very short battle then ensued as I promptly thumbed the spool to break him off. I have released or broken off all the sharks I have hooked. You guys can do as you please, it is not for me to judge. As a surfer, I always felt that if I don't mess with sharks, they won't mess with me.

[Harry Hill]

I don't know why but when ever I eat shark I taste uric acid, so I don't eat shark. That is how I know someone is passing shark off as swordfish, same taste.