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By ELBERT AULL
MaineToday Media, Inc.

MaineToday Media, Inc.

Animal-rights groups plan to protest a charity shark-fishing tournament in Saco later this week, calling the fundraiser cruel and irresponsible.

The Humane Society of the United States and two Maine groups want local politicians to put a stop to the tournament.

"It's a carnival. It's a carnival. The sharks are hauled up and kids are given a front-row seat," said John Grandy, vice-president for wildlife at the Washington-based humane society.

The organization bought advertising space in a local newspaper and on an airplane banner to coincide with the two-day competition and asked the city's mayor to cancel the event. The campaign is part of a national effort to shut down shark-fishing tournaments.

Supporters of the competitions say they provide marine biologists with shark carcasses for research that helps keep populations at healthy levels.

Opponents say the events send the wrong message at a time when worldwide shark populations are dwindling as a result of poaching and over fishing.

"The message we need to be sending about sharks is they're in trouble worldwide, they need to be conserved," Grandy said.

The man who organized the Downeast Maine Shark Tournament, a United Way of York County fundraiser in its fourth year, said protesters are "going after the wrong people."

Animal-rights groups should use their resources to fight widespread "shark-finning," said Dave Johnson, a neuroscientist at the University of New England in Biddeford. The activity, where poachers slice off the dorsal fin -- a delicacy in some countries -- and toss the shark overboard, no longer able to swim, has been cited as a leading cause of population decline by international conservation groups.

"Recreational fishermen are not the reason sharks are in danger," Johnson said. Entrants killed a total of 13 sharks in the first three years of the Saco tournament, he said. The 40 teams registered for this year's contest are bound by a combination of federal restrictions and contest rules that limit their take to one per day.

The remains go to James Sulikowski, a shark, skate and stingray researcher at UNE. Sulikowski uses bones, tissue and organs for studies on age, genetics, and population management.

"Without these tournaments, we really wouldn't know as much as we do about these species," Sulikowski said.

Grandy, of the animal rights group, said his organization works with international officials to combat poachers. He said it's also important to oppose killing sharks for sport. "What it says is: sharks are worthless except as prizes," Grandy said. He recently wrote a letter asking Saco Mayor Mark Johnston to put a stop to the event.

Johnston said he never saw the note and wouldn't consider closing the event even if he had. "They have a right, it's legal and I wouldn't interfere," he said.

The shark tournament has a $300 entry fee and awards a hefty cash prize. It begins Friday morning and runs until Saturday afternoon. The weigh-in station for catches is at the Camp Ellis Pier in Saco.

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