Der Kommentar von Kelly Slater bezüglich des „Shark Culling“ auf La Renuion hat riesige Wellen geschlagen und wir wollen das Thema auch gar nicht weiter austreten.

Interessant ist es jedoch, dass sich Kelly Slater gegenüber Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson entschuldigte, nachdem dieser mit ihm in Kontakt getreten ist.

Please say what you feel you need to say to me below. I promise I’ll read all the comments and respond if I can. I have been an environmental activist and voice for more campaigns than I can remember. I’ve worked with Rhinos in South Africa to bring awareness and education to the poaching issues they experience. I’ve been a vocal opponent to #SharkFinning and find it a despicable practice which has no place in our world. I’ve worked with the @bosfoundation and raised funds for the protection and awareness around the plight of the Orangutans. I want to become vegan due to the treatment and slaughter of the most defenseless and innocent animals on this planet. I produce clothing from discarded fishing nets to help clean up the mess left behind by fishing industry. My heart is in the right place but now I am being vehemently attacked by the people I have most identified with for the majority of my life. Humans are the biggest threat to life on earth as most creatures know it. But they are also the most capable and able to fix the issues we face. My comments were in reaction to another death of a kid following his passion. I know more about this issues than 99+% of people commenting yet I still don’t know enough. I was in no way advocating for a worldwide destruction of any species. In fact, there’s a chance many more species of sharks and other sea life could thrive without the over abundance of bull sharks in Reunion Island ravaging the local environment. This is not about me having fun and being selfish for my sport. This is a human and environmental issue. Attacking me will do no good in the conversation that will continue to need to happen for resolution around this topic. I have never personally killed even a single shark in my lifetime and am not fronting an effort to do so. So say what you need to say and let’s get on with where this needs to go. Maybe something good will come of it.

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Kelly Slater (@kellyslater) am 25. Feb 2017 um 8:06 Uhr

Mr Watson war ähnlich erschüttert über die Äußerungen wie viele andere auch und so überrascht es wenig, dass die mail von Kelly dann doch ganz anders ausfiel, als der Kommentar auf Instagram:

„I would like to address my comment about the recent bull shark attack in Reunion Island. I did not think my words through. It is easy to get emotional given the recent history with sharks that the local community has suffered, especially when young lives are lost. However, killing anything in hopes of a solution is not in line with my philosophies about life and I don’t believe are a long term fix to an ongoing problem. This is a good time to put energy and intelligence into finding a solution that works for everyone…utilizing technology, science, and human emotion. I know a solution can be found that works for all parties. I’ll continue to learn about and put energy towards efforts to defend and protect our oceans.“ Sincerely, Kelly Slater

Es scheint wirklich als wäre Kelly die Tragweite seines Kommentars nicht bewusst gewesen. Einigen Einheimischen spricht er natürlich aus dem Herzen, denn die Überpopulation der Tiger- und Bullenhaien in der Region ist nicht zu leugnen. Umweltorganisationen und Behörden ist jedoch seit Jahren bemüht, eine Lösung des vom Menschen verursachten „Problems“ zu finden. Das Abschlachten von Haien ist erwiesenerweise der falsche Weg. So haben Studien gezeigt, dass in Region in denen „Shark Culling“ praktiziert wird, kein Rückgang von Hai Attacken zu verzeichnen ist, sondern einen Zuwachs. Das hat auch einen plausiblen Grund laut Mr Watson:

„Why is it that the highest incidence of shark attacks in the world happen where shark culling is practiced? Specifically Reunion, Queensland and Western Australia. And the reason for this is that the removal of sharks from their established territory creates a vacuum and thus an invite for replacement sharks and these replacement sharks are seeking to establish the vacant territory as their own and this makes them far more aggressive than the sharks they replaced. Culling creates a black hole and it will draw in replacement bull sharks from Madagascar resulting in more aggressive shark attacks and more mass killings of sharks. It’s a vicious circle of shark culling and attacks on humans.“

Ein Gutes hat die ganze Diskussion jedoch, denn es gibt in diesen Zeiten eigentlich keine schlechte PR, denn das Thema lässt sich nicht einfach aussitzen und so kommt wieder Schwung in die Diskussion und wir sind uns sicher, dass es eine Lösung ohne das Morden von Haien geben wird.

Anbei noch das vollständige Statement von Captain Paul Watson und ein interessanter Videobeitrag zu dem Thema.