Photo via Twitter Andrew Cuomo
The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, must have been pretty proud of his catch from a boat trip he took earlier this week. He posted two photos of himself—along with his news anchor brother, Chris Cuomo, and friends—standing next to a very large and very bloody thresher shark. He tweeted: "Today's catch: A 154.5-lb Thresher shark off the south shore of Long Island." His chief of staff, Melissa De Rossa, also tweeted the photo.In an attempt to assuage irate New Yorkers, Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for Governor Cuomo, made the following statement: "This is an edible game fish that is indigenous to New York waters and catching them is allowable under both state and federal regulations."
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It's pretty safe to assume that they are both now deeply regretting those tweets. Cuomo and his staff have spent some time this week trying to calm down constituents, conservationists, and animal rights advocates—all of whom found the tweets to be evidence that the governor is seriously clueless.Today's catch: A 154.5-lb Thresher shark off the south shore of Long Island. #IFISHNY pic.twitter.com/AsCgEEBxtk
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 28, 2016
Although it is legal to fish for thresher shark in New York State, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has listed all three species of the shark as "vulnerable to extinction." Due to overfishing, a full one-third of sharks are threatened with extinction, and the thresher shark species (Alopias spp.) are considered to be among that group.READ MORE: Cup Noodles' New 'Luxury' Soup Flavors Include Shark Fin and Softshell Turtle
To give you an idea of how precarious the survival of these sharks really is, Lewis Pugh—who has the intriguing title of United Nations Patron of the Oceans—has called the fishing and tweeting by New York's Governor "abhorrent."A quick search for @NYGovCuomo on Twitter reveals what appears to be a good amount of outrage. Some people are calling the governor a hypocrite because in 2013, he signed legislation that prohibited the sale and possession of shark fins. Back then, he called the practice "inhumane" and said it upset the "natural balance of the oceanic ecosystem."Meanwhile on Long Island, catch of the day goes to Gov Cuomo…with an assist from @chriscuomo pic.twitter.com/9ssErgVtJA — Melissa DeRosa (@melissadderosa) August 28, 2016
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MUNCHIES reached out to the Governor's office for comment but did not immediately hear back.As for the shark's fate after it was caught? Chris Cuomo wrote that that they "had a feast!" and that the group "grilled it simply with a little Mediterranean rub. Tasty."The UN's Pugh told The Guardian that Cuomo's tweet was an "extraordinary" act, indicating an ignorance about the environment. Pugh said, "Apex predators such as sharks are crucial for the ocean ecosystems. For a public figure to kill such an animal and then boast about it on social media is dangerously irresponsible. This shows a clear lack of judgment and calls to question his capability as a public leader."If Cuomo isn't swayed by the conservationists or the animal lovers, perhaps health concerns will keep him from shark fishing for a while. Apex predators accumulate metals like crazy from the species they hunt and eat. The governor and friends would be wise to stay off shark for a while, if only to avoid potential mercury or arsenic poisoning.READ MORE: An Indonesian Politician Says Instant Ramen Makes Babies Turn Gay