The reel deal: Nova Scotia shark derbies ‘exhilarating’
Hundreds of anglers face off against misunderstood beasts for prizes and bragging rights
HALIFAX— For most Canadians, sharks are objects of mystery and fear — unblinking, primeval monsters of the deep whose razor-sharp teeth are the stuff of nightmares.
In Nova Scotia, however, for a few weeks every summer, they are objects of desire.
Unique in Canada, the province hosts annual shark derbies every August, in which hundreds of anglers pay for a chance to land one of the top predators of the sea.
These fishing tournaments have been closely monitored by the feder- al Fisheries Department since they started in 1993. Four are scheduled for the next two weekends: two in Cape Breton and two along the province’s southwest shore.
“Just to feel it, even if it’s a little one, you’ve got something there that’s very powerful,” said George Benham, president of the 25th annual Lockeport Sea Derby. “It can run for a minute or two at a time, and the line is flying off the reel. It’s exhilarating.”
Benham says the town’s festival also offers prizes for those who catch the largest mackerel and groundfish, typically cod, pollock and haddock. But it’s the big sharks that attract the most attention when fishermen haul them onto the wharf to be weighed and examined by federal scientists.
Benham, a lobster and cod fisherman, admits shark fishing can be dangerous — “if you’re careless.”
“If you catch one, and you start putting your hands and fingers around their mouth — well, that’s not a smart thing to do,” he says.
“Obviously, you’ve got a live creature that can be pretty big and powerful with sharp teeth. You treat them with respect.”
Virtually all of the sharks landed during the derbies will be blue sharks, the most abundant type of shark off Nova Scotia and southeastern Newfoundland.
Any blue sharks under eight feet long must be released back into the ocean, according to federal rules introduced in 2006.