Moderate weather, calm seas and precious little fishing. Does it actually come as all that much of a surprise? The commercial fleet is concentrating on lobsters, the weekenders seem to have all but given up and the offshore has gone awfully quiet. But why?

One reason is that a lot of boats got taken out of water for Igor and there just doesn't seem to be much sense in putting them back over with winter just around the corner. Another is the presence of, wait for it, the sub-tropical storm (love the designation!) Otto, which is yet another deterrent for those considering an offshore excursion.

Finally, the brave perhaps even fearless fishers who would venture forth are deterred by the relative lack of fish. Wahoo and tuna seem to be righteously thin on the ground. This, despite the number of mackerel of the juvenile or frigate variety that seem to be omnipresent. One would think that the abundant presence of bait should be followed by the presence of predators. This simply does not seem to be true. A few operators have enjoyed some nice catches but these are the exception rather than the rule and today's fuel prices also play a role in deciding whether or not a trip offshore is worth it.

With most of the commercial fleet concentrating on lobsters, there are also a few who are taking advantage of the conditions to drift fish on the Banks. This has the feast or famine feel about it but putting in the time usually ensures enough in the way of fillets to make the effort worthwhile. Drifting has the added advantage of saving fuel and there is always a bit of a mystery as to what might bite. School amberjack and bonita often please with largr ones often travelling in pairs. On such occasions it is sometimes possible to catch both fish, especially if more than one bottom rig is deployed. Sometimes on multiple hook rigs, two or more ambers will latch on, making the long crank to the surface well worth the effort.

In the good old days, working the Banks in such fashion often involved run-ins with sharks, sometimes of the large variety.

Sharks, it seems that we don't have any anymore. Oh, we do but they do not grab the limelight like they once did and there is little if any sport fishing interest in any of them. A few tournaments, like the Regiment tournament, have a category for largest shark or similar but most others do not.

As has been pointed out recently by a number of anglers , many of whom are relatively new entrants into the sport, sharks do not appear to be all that common. What is the story here?

Back in the day, as is so often quoted, sharks were definitely more numerous. And there was a lot of variety to be had. What is different between then and now.

Let's examine the species in question. First off, there are tiger sharks. These are still around and mostly of the large variety. While they are seen during the day especially during the summer months, like most sharks they tend to be nocturnal. They were occasional caught by hook and line bottom fishers but this was a minority simply because those bent on catching coneys, hinds and rockfish used monofilament leaders that almost invariably parted when they came into contact with a shark's teeth or rough skin. Although classified as an IGFA game fish, they elicited little attention here. They do seem to be less common than they used to be and with the locally based Bermuda Shark Project it may be possible to solve some of the mysteries surrounding this species.

Most of the shark stories came from commercial operators fishing at night or those hauling pots. It was a regular occurrence for a shark to follow a pot to the surface and then to gorge itself on whatever "trash" fish were discarded overboard. Sometimes it was a tiger but, more often than not, it was a dusky or cub (or kerb) shark. First off, the science is all wrong because the common or garden brown shark that we get here has been shown to be a species that looks a lot like a dusky but isn't a dusky. It goes by a scientific name that finishes us 'galapagensis" or from the Galapagos Islands. The differences are not obvious but we are probably dealing with this species. Perhaps fittingly, the real dusky has a scientific moniker that includes "obscurus" and that seems to pretty much summarise things.

In any case, the common shark just isn't so common anymore. Whether that is our doing – we did catch them for their livers for shark oil and as "puppies" for hash – or part of the global decline in sharks is unclear. The implication is that they were local in nature and that they did not migrate too far but just maybe that was a misnomer.

Blue sharks, a true pelagic wanderer, were also fairly common. In fact, they were a nuisance showing up in chum slicks and being anything but bright. There is no shortage of tales of them being caught on line as light as 12-lb test and giving no contest whatsoever, merely swimming to the boat when pulled. Amazingly, this species was also recognised as a game fish. One doesn't hear much about blue sharks these days and it is probably the world's longline fishery that is responsible for their demise.

One of the sea's oddities is the hammerhead shark. Again this was once fairly regular about these Islands but they are seldom seen anymore. This species was also classified as a game fish by the IGFA but sharks never really caught the interest of local anglers. The odd exception may be the mako but that has never really been common enough to be the target of a directed sport fishing effort.

This was not the case elsewhere. The US east coast had an active shark sport fishery and movies such as the Jaws series only encouraged more fishing. A lot of misconception and a general lack of understanding put the sharks under intense pressure with the international commercial fisheries making serious inroads into their population structures.

Given the now documented plight of sharks, any local effort that really does not need or want a shark should consider releasing any that might be caught. Sharks do have a place in the ocean; they serve several needs and are probably way more valuable than just being yet another source of Tight lines!!!