New World Record OW Swim

You're right, we shouldn't discuss first hand reports of animals being killed so that a swimmer achieves a record. How silly of us. 3 of a critically endangered species in the area killed. Big deal! /sarcasm I always love the (1) i've done more for conservation than you so your opinion doesn't count (2) I've donated more money than you so your opinion doesn't count (3) millions of sharks are killed a year, what's 3 more? (4) unless you've dedicated your life to wildflife conservation your opinion doesn't count responses It's almost like some people think the issue shouldn't be discussed Anyway, I get a little passionate about these things, having been lucky enough to see them in the wild. I've also been on dive trips where there were absolutely zero sharks, where they thrived before, due to overfishing. But I won't comment further. Either people want the truth or not. To each his or her own

That entire post wasn't just 'borderline' ridiculous..... it was absolute. Actually yes, with the continued push FL will be closing Tiger and Hammerhead (all species) recreational and commercial harvesting in FL state waters. As I type this the second nite of workshop talks are in progress in Dania Beach at the IGF Hall of Fame between the FWC and dedicated volunteers...SHARK SAVERS was instrumental in having Lemon sharks added to the Prohibited List in 2010, and the team is there tonite and other cities in the State thru June 30th working on the Big 3: Tigers, Hammers, and Bulls. Out of all of this no one should be more upset than Penny herself, the actions of her support team have seriously marred her epic swim, and also her name. People sure know who Penny Palfrey is now, especially in the SCUBA/shark diving/environment/marine biology/animal rights circles. Unfortunately bad things happen so good things can > Oceanic Whitetips, a true pelagic species that is listed as Critically-Endangered will be getting some much needed help: a new awareness campaign/swim/documentary in the Cayman Islands which will be steps to getting them protected. That is the focus, at least for myself, coming out of all this. I can say that when I get in the water I truly AM swimming the good fight - For our Sharks. And I plan to go Fast......

with all due respect chaos, and much is indeed due, that is a major misstatement of Lynn's Cape of Good Hope Swim ... and Lynne is my idol and Penney almost ties for 1st, and still does (congrats Penny!) Moreover, no sharks were killed on Lynne's swim, if that is what you mean by 'taken out'. thanks for the text. i actually have 4 copies of swimming to antarctica (3 were gifts after i swam the EC) but only read it once... about 10 years ago. still, my intention was not to demonize Lynn or diminish her accomplishments but to point out that attitudes evolve, and a couple of frogmen with spear guns as your safety crew would probably be frowned upon today.

Good post Chaos and I'm glad you chimed in. Let me play devil's advocate to pick your brain more. Suppose I am trying to be the first person to run across Alaska (although I'm sure it has been done). Obviously Alaska has bears. While I would expect my support crew to disable a bear if I was in immediate danger, at what point is it the athlete's imperative to stop the attempt due to an obvious potential hazard to the environment, most notably including wildlife? People don't really like sharks but imagine if it were the seals recently killed on Cape Cod or menacing cuddly little puppies? And, what kind of pre-event planning typically takes place in regards to foreseeable animal issues, if any? This is the ethical discussion we should be having, but unless we take a vegan-hinduesque position, it is all grey area and could include a broad range of dilemmas. Is hunting OK? for food? for fur? (fashion) for fun? (hockey mom popping caps in wolves from a helicopter) Same with fishing.... food? trophy? catch and release? (BTW, the mortality rate of caught and released fish is quite high) ....and what about collateral damage? (on the verge of going political here) This swim was never attempted before, so I'm sure the crew planned for everything they could imagine.... but not everything possible..

Chris - you and several posters have ignored the achievement and fixated on the consequences that were unintended. perhaps penny and other might elaborate on their protocol for shark encounters during their swim... perhaps the person-in-charge should have called the swim... you don't have to be happy with her achievement. you don't have to be happy with the consequences. Todd - you do realize making the harvest of hammers. bulls and tigers illegal doesn't mean they won't continue to be incidental catch in other fisheries? and by the way, each of these species is permissable catch in Federal waters... as are oceanic whitetips. I am confused by what some posters might consider reasonable... if a white shark made an appearance at the 800-swimmer alcatraz sharkfest should it be every swimmer for themselves... after all you don't have to outswim the shark just your fellow swimmer. what would have been reasonable for penny's swim? does she need both your permission and endorsement prior to her next swim?

Maybe the majority of people today think that if you cannot clear the water in time, then you must accept being attacked by the animal. I am still unsure what happened, but if you go with the story that 3 sharks were hooked/attempted to be hooked/macheted (or whatever) one could argue that even if there was insufficient time to get out safely, that gets you only one shark. That is still not a good outcome but one which I could accept as being necessary. But the allegation is potentially 3 so that argument does not stand up. It seems that if it happened and if was only 1 person doing the baiting & hooking, there would be enough time to get out before baiting and hooking a second shark.

I am confused by what some posters might consider reasonable... if a white shark made an appearance at the 800-swimmer alcatraz sharkfest should it be every swimmer for themselves... after all you don't have to outswim the shark just your fellow swimmer. There is a reason fish swim in schools

On two of these occasions, he attempted to hook the sharks with a baited fish. One shark was hooked and the crew member tried to pull the trashing shark into the Zodiac with his bare hands and a fishing line. If anyone has ever tried to pull a 6-8 foot trashing shark into a small Zodiac with bare hands around a fishing line, you will know that is an extraordinarily difficult thing to achieve. The shark was not caught nor pulled into the Zodiac. Without being able to be held or pulled into the Zodiac, I always wonder how the crew member was supposedly able to machete the shark to death, especially since the sharks got away and the crew member never dove in the water and there was no blood in the water and no blood in the Zodiac. I can confirm this because I was in that very Zodiac on the next shift. In summary, I did not see any sharks being killed, although I saw two sharks attempt to be hooked and pulled from the water. Are you essentially saying that the only reason the sharks were not killed was because they got away? Reserving all judgement until you clarify (if you feel like you need to, which really you don't). If anyone has ever tried to pull a 6-8 foot thrashing shark into a small Zodiac with bare hands around a fishing line, you will know that is an extraordinarily difficult thing to achieve. Pshh, I did it twice this morning with one hand (I was flipping an omelet with the other).

i'm not following you, why only 1? Because in the time it takes to bait, hook & relocate or kill one shark the swimmer could easily be pulled from the water

Katie, I told in detail what occurred during the alleged 3 separate massacres of endangered sharks in an email to Todd Cameron and several others, including different publications. In brief summary, I saw 3 separate incidents where sharks swam around Penny. These were in the daytime under gorgeous conditions while I was on her escort boat. I had an excellent view of the situation. As I explained to Todd who has been quoted in several publications, Penny was not under direct attack. However, a shark did come up to one of her kayakers. If I were that kayaker, I would have similarly defended myself with a paddle. I understand from many in the community that even those actions are indefensible. However, I believe it is a natural human response to attempt to defend oneself in the open ocean. As the shark was circling the kayaker, another one of Penny's support crew tried to get between the kayaker, Penny and the shark with a small Zodiac. He cut (killed) a fish and threw them in the opposite direction of Penny. The sharks swam in the direction of the bleeding fish. On two of these occasions, he attempted to hook the sharks with a baited fish. One shark was hooked and the crew member tried to pull the trashing shark into the Zodiac with his bare hands and a fishing line. If anyone has ever tried to pull a 6-8 foot trashing shark into a small Zodiac with bare hands around a fishing line, you will know that is an extraordinarily difficult thing to achieve. The shark was not caught nor pulled into the Zodiac. Without being able to be held or pulled into the Zodiac, I always wonder how the crew member was supposedly able to machete the shark to death, especially since the sharks got away and the crew member never dove in the water and there was no blood in the water and no blood in the Zodiac. I can confirm this because I was in that very Zodiac on the next shift. In summary, I did not see any sharks being killed, although I saw two sharks attempt to be hooked and pulled from the water. I have invited several individuals who are quite upset at Penny and her crew (myself included) to appear on Open Water Wednesday in order to describe this swim and these incidents and how this swim is not an example of all the good that is created by the open water swimming community. These individuals include some of the most well-known open water swimmers in history. If they agree to appear, I am hopeful their views of the sport and the desirability of respecting all marine creatures will be heard, discussed and accepted widely.