So how many of us watch discovery channel. Probably all of us at some point and time. I have watched all kinds of things on discovery..... anything from Dirty Jobs to shark week to Planet Earth. I have learned that Planet Green channel and animal planet are both a discovery channel company. On planet green I seen a a few weeks ago a show about shark finning. It was a 2 hour documentary on the topic. It showed how the fisherman catch the fish and the awful way they take their fins and one of the big topics was the mile after mile long fishing lines these boats put out that would catch anything from sharks to turtles to sperm whales to dolphins to sea birds. At one point they pulled up a line that had went on for miles and when it had all been counted up they had caught over 100 sharks and about 5 sea turtles off of one line. The whole show was about how awful this was. So on to the point, I watched for the first time a few days ago the show "Swords". I was shocked when I saw the fishermen throw out 30 mile long fishing lines that I have learned can contain up to 1000 hooks. I watch as they pulled in swordfish, brought them right to the boat and and threw their gaff hooks over and hooked him in the eye socket and hauled him up. I sat and wondered why it was that they werent showing anything else being caught on the long line. Then it came a 200 lb. maco shark was pulled it. They too reached down and hooked one hook in its gills and the other in its eye (its still alive now) and pull it up. The guys says its small but we will get a couple hundred bucks out of it. If they are catching sharks then they have to be catching other marine life too. Discovery channel needs to take one side or the other.... not sit on the fence. They have shows like The Cove and Whale Wars and you think they are promoting good then you see the exact opposite on this show. What is not ok for foreigners to use long lines and harm and kill millions of sea animals each year but it is ok for these guys because they are american? I dont think so. Swords needs to be taken off the air and the long line fishing needs to stop. For more info on long line fishing check out the site below:
http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/longline_fishing_threatens_seabirds_and_other_marine_life.htmlcall, write, or e-mail discovery channel and tell them this needs to end:
Discovery Communications
Viewer Relations
One Discovery Place
5th Floor
Silver Spring, MD 20910
1-800-398-6395