Killing marlin – attitudes are changing

It has been interesting to see a change in people’s reactions to the killing of marlin and other large game fish.
The New Zealand Herald, which is the largest selling newspaper in New Zealand, has run pictures of young spearfishermen and line fishermen standing proudly by their catch. In recent times when such pictures appear, the Herald receives a number of Letters to the Editor. Every letter has been highly critical of the killing of the marlin - in general their comments are: it’s ‘disgusting’ for a person to be proud of killing such a magnificent marine creature. One writer even commented on the fact that in the same Herald edition there was an article about a man being fined for cruelty to a dog while another page showed a picture of a proud fisherman and his marlin. The writer commented, ‘Why is it illegal to torture a dog but not a fish?’