2019 U.S. Shark Tournaments

SAVAGE SLAUGHTER FOR “SPORT”

Shark fishing tournaments glorify and celebrate the massacre of threatened and endangered species, unconscionable given the decimated shark populations. The numbers of mako, blue, hammerhead and thresher sharks have plummeted in the North Atlantic and this senseless slaughter by a savage few affects countless many.

Some tournaments attempt to defend the killings by claiming they give the shark carcasses to researchers. Others, like the Star Island Yacht Club Tournament, try to justify the butchery by giving shark meat to a food pantry to “help feed those in need!”—a particularly heartless gesture given the many toxins in shark meat.

We are asking all Shark Research Institute members and shark conservationists to speak out and protest the killing of animals vital to the health of the ocean. Animals that have a right to live free from the savagery of this bloodsport. Animals fighting just to survive.

Follow the links below for each of the tournaments to call organizers, tourism offices and sponsors and demand that these events be cancelled forever. Use the hashtag #stopsharkslaughter on social media so these people can see how many oppose this profoundly inhumane behavior.

Join us and stand with the sharks.

South Jersey Shark Tournament

Dates
June 5-9, 2019

Location
Cape May, New Jersey

Protest
Call Tournament Director Aaron T. Hoffman, 609-884-0177 and post on their Facebook page to demand that this tournament be permanently cancelled. You can also post on Aaron T. Hoffman’s personal Facebook page.

Call (609) 884-5508 or email the town of Cape May and post on their Facebook and Twitter pages to say that you will not visit or provide any tourism support as long as they welcome this event.

Click the logos below to post on the tournament sponsors’ Facebook pages to tell them you are boycotting their businesses as long as they provide the financial support for this carnage.

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23rd Annual Mako Mania

Dates
June 7-9, 2019

Location
Bahia Marina, Ocean City, Maryland

Protest
Call the marina, (410) 289-7438 and post on their Facebook page to demand that this tournament be permanently cancelled. You can also post on marina owner Shawn Harman’s personal Facebook page.

Call (410) 213-0552 or email the town of Ocean City and post on their Facebook page to say that you will not visit or provide any tourism support as long as they welcome this event.

Click the logos below to call or post on the tournament sponsors’ Facebook pages to tell them you are boycotting their businesses as long as they provide the financial support for this carnage.

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Star Island Yacht Club 33rd Annual Shark Tournament

Dates
June 13-15, 2019

Location
Star Island Yacht Club, Montauk, New York

Protest
Call the Star Island Yacht Club, (631) 668-5052, and post on their Facebook page to demand that this tournament be permanently cancelled.

Call (631) 668-2428 or email the town of Montauk and post on their Facebook page to say that you will not visit or provide any tourism support as long as they welcome this event.

Click the logos below to call or post on the tournament sponsors’ Facebook pages to tell them you are boycotting their businesses as long as they provide the financial support for this carnage.

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Mako Mania

Dates
June 15-16, 2019
June 22-23, 2019

Location
Southside Marina located in Point Pleasant Beach, Manasquan, New Jersey

Protest
Call the organizers, (732) 899-7707, and post on their Facebook page to demand that this tournament be permanently cancelled. You can also call the Southside Marina, (732) 892-0388, and voice your opposition to this event.

Call the Point Pleasant Beach Chamber of Commerce, 732-899-2424, and post on their Facebook page to say that you will not visit or provide any tourism support as long as they welcome this event.

6th Annual Block Island Giant Shark Tournament

Dates
July 11-13, 2019

Location
Block Island, Rhode Island

Protest
Call the organizers, (860) 209-4056, and post on the organizer’s Facebook page to demand that this tournament be permanently cancelled. You can also call Payne's Dock (401) 864-3832, and voice your opposition to this event.

Call the Block Island Chamber of Commerce, (401) 466-2982, and post on their Facebook page to say that you will not visit or provide any tourism support as long as they welcome this event.

The North Atlantic Monster Shark Tournament

Dates
July 18-21, 2019

Location
West Island Marina, Fairhaven, Massachusetts

Protest
Call the organizers, Sharks Fund Fisheries Corp. (they bill themselves a “nonprofit organization” on their Facebook page), (508) 717-8810 and post on the organizer’s Facebook page to demand that this tournament be permanently cancelled. You can also call West Island Marina (508) 993-0008 or post on their Facebook page to voice your opposition to this event.

Call the City of New Bedford, Office of Tourism, (508) 979-1745, or email Dagny Ashley, the Director of Tourism, to say that you will not visit or provide any tourism support as long as they welcome this event. Also post on their Facebook page.