Shark-killing for Hedonistic Sport and Obscene Profit

In one month the town of Oak Bluffs will hold its annual meeting. One measure to be discussed and voted at the town meeting and on the ballot concerns the annual Monster Shark Tournament, promoted and run by Steve James, impresario of the Boston Big Game Fishing Club.

For years there has been concerned opposition to the shark tournament.  The Humane Society investigated and found possibly illegal gambling associated with the tournament and sent a letter of protest in 2008 to Martha Coakley, the Attorney General. No action was taken.

In 2012 Steve Maxner organized a group of musicians who felt strongly about the shark tournament to write, record and perform a concert of songs opposing this annual event in Oak Bluffs.  This year a group of Oak Bluffs residents, lead by Debbie Dean, collected enough signatures to get a non-binding measure before the town meeting calling for the tournament to change to catch-and-release. Though the measure is non-binding, the group hopes the selectmen will hear the increasing numbers of Oak Bluffs voices in opposition.

The latest protest against the shark tournament is Xoc, a serial novel about the shark tournament written by "Purple Guernsey," or P.G. for short. I sat down with P.G. just the other day to discuss Xoc and what was behind writing this entertaining piece of muckraking fiction.  Here is that interview, unedited.

Q: There has been a lot of talk about the serial novel – Xoc (pronounced Shok) - you’ve just launched on WordPress and have publicized on Twitter and Facebook. Much of it centers on who you are, since you have published under a pseudonym, and what your motives may be. Can we start there?

A: Why not?

Q: Okay, why the pseudonym? Purple Guernsey? I know Guernsey is an island in the English Channel.

A: I should think that would be obvious.  Just call me P.G.  And when we know each other better, I may let you call me Purple.

Q: You got it, P.G.  Are you an Oak Bluffs resident?

A: Let’s just say I am not a year-round registered voter in the town of Oak Bluffs. I love the town, have loved it for many years and have spent many summers there.

Q: Why are you publishing a serial novel about the shark tournament?

A: The shark tournament is an appalling event and, though may people are offended by it, the town government seems to have an absurd sense that it benefits the town. Not only does it not benefit the town financially, except for a few interested parties, it makes a mockery of the horrifying global slaughter of sharks – 100 million a year – mostly for their fins. Somebody had to speak out.

Q: It is hard to grasp the number 100 million, I will admit. But what’s a few more?

A: It is salt in the wound, insult added to injury. It is abuse of our place in the ecosystem. Is that how we want the world and our children to view Oak Bluffs?  It’s a blemish on the beauty of the island and our love of nature.

Q: I take it you’re not a fan of Jaws.

A: Look, I loved Jaws when it came out. It was a great entertainment, great acting, great story, and best of all it was shot on the Vineyard and featured people we knew or had seen around the island. Unfortunately, Jaws reinforces a false picture of what sharks are about and, even to this day, contributes to a sense that it’s ok to kill sharks because they are threatening us, dangerous creatures we should feel free to kill. That is not only false, but a very unfortunate point of view – not just for the sharks, but for us, the entire planet and the fragile ecosystem it supports.

Q: Ok, P.G. Let’s move on.  Tell me the about the novel itself.

A: Ok, it’s a crime novel. Sharks are killed. People are killed. And, as usual, it’s all for the money. So you get a lot of intrigue, some interesting characters and plenty of suspenseful entertainment along the way. Basically, though, it’s the story of a young man named Sam returning from several years in Afghanistan as a special ops marine. He comes to the Vineyard to get a fresh perspective on life, and on himself as a person, and he gets a job working for his uncle who is the harbormaster of Cottage City. It's mid-July. He runs smack dab into the shark tournament and into a very savvy woman named Emma who is dead set against the killing of sharks.

Q: Cottage City? I assume that’s meant to be Oak Bluffs.

A: Naturally, I have changed a few names to protect the innocent and the not-so-innocent. It is just a story, after all, not a non-fiction account of the shark tournament. It gives me the freedom to invent so that the story is entertaining and not a lecture.

Q: Why did you call it Xoc? That’s sort of unpronounceable, isn’t it P.G.?

A: Shock value. (Pause) Just kidding. The word Xoc is the Mayan for shark, and it is pronounced “Shok.”

Q: Where can people find your novel?

A: It’s on WordPress. I’ll give you the link. http://xocmv.wordpress.com/  Anybody on Facebook can find the Xoc page.