They're a bunch of upper crust dingles who don't like guns. I'd like to see one jump in the frigid water and deal with a 500 lb. salmon shark or barn door halibut bare handed. They put absurd ideals of "sportsmanship" over safety and humane slaughter.
Uh, I think you're a bit off-base.
Sport fishing records have nothing to do with anything but sport fishing records. You can still eat the fish. You can still have the picture of you and the fish hung up at the local bar without being mocked as a fake. The fish might still be of interest to news reporters, marine biologists, sportfishing-related businesses.
You just can't have a record, recorded with a particular organization, for landing a 500 lb. fish in your boat, when you didn't do that.
Think about this. What if you're the guy who actually landed a live 485 lb. halibut in your boat? Would you want your record to be broken by a guy who shot his fish in the water?
I agree with you about safety, ethics, humane slaughter, etc. But since when have world records been about safety, ethics, etc?