This article was a refreshing read
for me. I never knew that annual shark-hunting tournaments were still in
existence today. I can imagine that many green protestors would have been
outraged by this event. It is actually rather surprising to me that the
tournament continued in its original format of killing sharks as trophies for
this long. In my personal view, I think it is long overdue for these events to
come to an end. At least having a catch-and-release contest is one step closer.
Although I found the background information on Mr. Mundus to be too
extensive and long, I’m sure the author had other reasons for including the
information. I felt that the author purposely took on a resolved tone in
order not to raise any more conflict about the topic. He informs the reader
that there was a “successful effort” to hold a contest where no sharks would be
killed. He strategically highlights the compromise between the
environmentalists and the long-time fishermen. The author might have chosen to
emphasize the success of the contest so to focus on the positive side.
I also empathize with the
fishermen. For many of them, this is a long-time tradition and livelihood.
Although shark-fishing will most likely eventually be completely ended, it is
alright to ease into things. I thought the circle hooks that supposedly injure
the sharks less is a brilliant way to introduce changes slowly. It pleased the
environmentalists and really required not much effort on the fishermen’s part.
I have never really heard of such a tournament, especially hunting sharks of all sea creatures. The article was a bit difficult to take a stance on or refute any critical points, so you did a great job in including your own input about these tournaments. Although you do add your input, you might want to also include maybe future impacts of this tradition or what significance it holds to the town.
ReplyDeleteI thought your commentary was greatly structured! you began your commentary by briefly introducing the contents of the article. Then you viewed the article in your perspective on this shark-killing tournament with a short comment on the overall structure. However, I recommend you to suggest the solutions that could possibly enhance the situation would have. For example, even though I'm not familiar with Montauk, N.Y., looking for a substitution that is popular in the region besides shark killing could attract tourists in other way might exist as well.
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