Wildlife panel takes bite out of shark fishing from shore

The state wildlife commission voted Wednesday to impose restrictions on shore-based shark fishing, an activity that produces hair-raising YouTube videos of nighttime battles with great hammerheads and tiger sharks.

The practice also frightens swimmers, who fear it brings big sharks closer to shore. And scientists say it endangers the sharks, which are often dragged onto the beach for photos that gratify fishermen’s egos but reduce the sharks’ chances of survival upon their return to the ocean.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, meeting in Fort Lauderdale, voted unanimously to direct its staff to draw up tougher shorebased shark-fishing rules. The rules — to be determined — could include a special license for shore-based fishing, stricter requirements on how to handle the sharks and possible restrictions on fishing gear.

Commissioner Joshua Kellam said he was particularly angered by images on social media that showed people clowning around near the beached sharks, holding their mouths open for photos or perching on their backs.

“Some of those pictures that were shown on social media were disgraceful,” he said. “I think it’s a disgrace to the animal, it’s a disgrace to our wildlife, so I think that just morally people should be ashamed of themselves to post stuff like that, to do that stuff to animals. People who do these things should be punished for their actions.”

The commission, a sevenmember volunteer board that oversees the agency in charge of wildlife protection, discussed the issue at a meeting at the Marriott Fort Lauderdale North. Before the vote, there was more than an hour of public comment, with nearly all the speakers supporting a crackdown on shorebased shark fishing. No one who participated in the activity spoke.

Any action by the commission is at least months away. The commission’s staff will draw up regulations, and in such situations typically consults with various stakeholders, including shark fishing groups, conservationists and scientists.