Social media attention drives shark fishing rules

Recently an 8-year-old boy caught a 100-pound sandbar shark on the shores of Captiva Beach.

Steele Floyd, of Sanibel, was surprised, but proud of his capture, which he released back into the water, but Floyd’s story floated around on social media trending in part of a greater conversation of shark fishing in Florida.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission started new rules over the summer requiring shark anglers 16 years of age and older to get a permit if they plan on fishing from the shore or pier, which can be obtained through a free online course.

The FWC saw fit to create these rules as a result of the high rise of social media casting its net on more eyes viewing the world of shark fishing, said FWC spokeswoman Amanda Nalley.

“The fishing world is different than it used to be. There’s fishing gear out there that allows you to catch big fish without a boat, and that’s exciting,” Nalley said. “But with the advent of phones making fishing more visible, a lot more people have come forward with concerns about new anglers harming themselves, swimmers or sharks.”

The FWC’s mission in enforcing the new rule has been to ensure the survival of the apex predators dragged onshore or up a pier.

While some have expressed frustration in having to take the 30 minute course, the response to the rule change has been mostly quiet, Nalley said.

Nearly 16,000 people completed the course and received the certificate of completion since the start of the program last summer. But only 11,500 turned in the certificate in exchange for the fishing permit.

“We did anticipate that happening,” Nalley said. “We think we had a lot of people who don’t fish for shark, who were very interested in the issue and took the course out of curiosity. Some may have been visitors with a trip in mind this year, took the test and then canceled the trip. Some may not have realized that there was another step.”

While some anglers acquired the permit, Florida shores are filled with fishermen who aren’t aware of the FWC new rule on shore-based shark fishing.

Volusia County is home to the shark bite capital of the world,

New Smyrna Beach, making its shores a natural place for shark anglers to congregate, and Volusia does receive a large amount of shark fishermen. Volusia County Beach Patrol isn’t checking to see if each of these anglers is carrying a permit, said Capt. Tammy Malphurs.

“We’re more concerned with whether or not they’re chumming, which is a safety issue,” she said.

Chumming, the practice of luring sharks to an area by throwing fish parts and blood into the water, is not an accepted practice in Volusia. County commissioners filed an ordinance against chumming, which would penalize violators with a $50 ticket.

FWC’s rules aren’t necessarily to catch wrongdoers, but are rather focused on educating newcomers, Nalley said.

“I do think it is a step in the right direction,” said Darcie Arahill, an experienced, South Florida angler and host of several fishing social media accounts including her YouTube channel, Darcizzle Offshore. “The reason is that YouTube and other social media platforms have caused a rise in shore-based shark fishing and a lot of these new fisherman don’t know what they are doing.”

Attention on social media has created a school of new anglers ready to jump into the world of fishing. Arahill and the fishing community calls these fishing newbies “googans.”

“Everyone is a googan at one point in their fishing career. No shame in that, but with sharks you can get seriously injured and/or seriously injure a protected species of shark if you do not know what you are doing,” Arahill said.

The social media mogul has a following of 175,000 on Instagram where she promotes the practice of safe fishing of all kinds specifically toward women and children.

When it comes to sharks Arahill shares the belief the animals are misunderstood. She’s done a lot of onshore shark fishing and enjoys the rush of catching one on a line. So long as the shark is her target. South Florida has an abundance of sharks that have a habit of eating fish caught on an angler’s line. Anglers call these sharks “taxmen,” Arahill said.

When Arahill is targeting sharks for sport, it’s a fun, fin time.

“Blacktips and spinners are so much fun to catch from the beach

on topwater baits and dead bait too,” she said. “Reeling in a monster hammerhead from the beach is a great accomplishment but they need to be handled correctly for your safety and the sharks as well.”

Shark angler permits only last one year. So anyone who was proactive over the summer will see their permit expire in six months, meaning they’ll have to take the course again, according to the FWC.

In the meantime the FWC plans on releasing more education about safe shark, onshore fishing and the 30 minute course by distributing newsletters, engaging in social media posts and market outreach effort, Nalley said.

“It’ll be interesting to see the number of permits go up or down,” Nalley said.