Shark Dragging Video Prompts Sarasota Slam Response

SARASOTA, FL — A video that surfaced on social media Monday showing what appears to be men dragging a shark to its death behind a fast-moving boat has drawn outrage from across the country. For organizers of the Sarasota Slam fishing tournament, the footage is especially disconcerting because one of the men is seen wearing a T-shirt from the local event.

“The Sarasota Slam is in no way affiliated with the despicable behavior in the video on social media,” the event’s website banner read on Wednesday. “We do not want to give those individuals any more attention."

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Slam organizers also took to Facebook and Twitter to express their disdain for the alleged actions depicted in the video. On Facebook, they reported the names of those involved had been turned over to authorities as soon as Slam officials learned about the video.

Indeed, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the case. Rob Klepper of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said on Wednesday the agency has determined the identities of the men in the video but the names would not be released at this time.

"It is too early to speculate as to what, if any, violations took place in this incident," he said. "However, the FWC would like to state that that the lack of respect shown in this video for our precious natural resources is disheartening and disturbing, and is not representative of conservation-minded anglers around the world."

Miami Beach’s Mark “The Shark” Quartiano, a professional shark hunter, was sent a copy of the video on Monday. He described the footage, that appears to show a power boat dragging a 6-foot black tip shark, as “evil.”

He said the video appears to have been shot in the Bradenton area, and was sent to him through social media, ostensibly for his "blessing" as a prominent shark hunter.

"I guess when they caught it, they brought it to the boat and they tied a rope around its tail and proceeded to drag it through the ocean," Quartiano explained. "That’s definitely evil to do that to an innocent creature. It’s one thing killing them humanely like we do. That’s totally disrespect."

The folks at Sarasota Slam appear to agree with Quartiano’s take. The people involved in the video’s creation “will be banned from our tournament,” Sarasota Slam wrote on its Facebook page. The behavior, the post explains, violates the tournament’s No. 1 rule, which demands “the highest level of integrity and sportsmanship from its participants.”

Patch reached out to organizers of the Sarasota Slam on Wednesday, but they were not immediately available for comment.

The 2017 Sarasota Slam is set to take place Aug. 1-5 out of Marina Jack in Sarasota. For more information about the event, visit the Sarasota Slam website.

Anyone with information about the case can contact the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922 or via email at Tip@MyFWC.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Patch's Paul Scicchitano contributed to this story.

Photo and video used with permission of Mark "The Shark" Quartiano