Now that I have my electricity back from the Hurricane!
I have also been following this thread from the beginning after reading on the forum in the US.
There are always going to be exceptions, but most of us in South Florida really appreciate the fishing resource we have in our own back yard. There are not many places in the world were you can get 3 or 4 shots at a swordfish after sailfishing in the afternoon. Or catch bonefish and tarpon within sight of downtown miami. Snapper, grouper, pompano, dolphin,wahoo, mackreal etc....
We are all on this type of forum for our love of fishing.
I have been swordfishing for 5 years now and have realized that this is the true gladiator of the sea. These fish figh harder pound for pound than any other fish i have fought. I have gone 4 trips in a row without catching 1 while getting at least 10 bites! Then you could get 6 in a row. It takes alot of time, effort, preperation to fish for swordfish. Taking a picture with the fish hanging is an accomplishment of your effort. Besides tournaments the only reason people have pictures is they killed the fish for food. I am a firm believer in conservation, i through back many legal fish of many species. But I do like to eat fish, so i kill what i will eat. Anything that is not to be eaten is released.
I have grown up fishing my whole life in South Florida and the Keys. When I was a kid in the Keys the fishing was unreal! I also remember coming home from college and you couldn't catch a kingfish if your life depended upon it. Since that time with the conservation, which most recreational anglers use kingfish have come back huge! We are now seeing crazy #'s of sailfish the past few seasons due to conservation measures. When the longlining was stopped the fish rebounded. Don't get bent out of shape when fish are hung, taken a picture and then eaten. Put that effort into stopping the slaughter of those type of fish by the commercial interst, not the recreational angler.