The Japanese Shark Hunters Catching the Ocean's Fiercest Predators

Off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, fishermen see hordes of their catch snapped up by sharks, which prowl the waters near their boats and tear into their hauls. In an effort to cut down on the problem, the fishermen launched an extensive extermination program—heading out into the open ocean with bait, hooks, and spears to catch and kill dozens of sharks.

On this episode of VICE INTL, we met up with a group of fishermen on Ishigaki island in 2016 to find out why sharks are such an issue for them, how the program got started, and what it takes to catch a shark firsthand.

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