Florida: Time to change rules on shark catches?
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Anglers have heaved sailfish from the briny soup of the Gulf Stream current for more than eight decades as part of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club’s annual competition, but in recent years, a new challenger has entered the fray.
Sharks are increasingly gobbling up the feisty sailfish before they can be reeled in and released, triggering new contest rules last year that count only intact fish toward a win.
And it’s not just the club’s Silver Sailfish Derby seeing a spike in sharks munching on catches. Charter boat captains, recreational anglers and commercial fishermen are all complaining to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission about losing more and more of their spoils to the apex predators.
“Sharks eating fish that have been hooked is not new, but what is new is the frequency that it is occurring,” said Tom Twyford, president of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club, which held its catch-and-release sailfish tournament recently.
“Fishermen are often the ones who sound the alarm when it comes to problems associated with the water. We are sounding the alarm.”
FWC addressed the concerns at a December commission meeting in a discussion about what can be done about sharks disrupting the economically bountiful fishing industry by eating hooked fish – known as depredation.
Ecotourists want to see more of the toothy attractions during Florida’s popular shark dives, which are allowed to feed sharks in federal waters – a practice scientists and fishermen believe has taught them to associate boats with an easy meal.
Conservationists argue it will be 50 to 80 years before sharks such as the sandbar and dusky rebuild their populations after being decimated by overfishing. Also, while a recovery of Flori
da shark populations in general seems evident, there’s an overall lack of information on some species – stymied in part because tallying shark numbers is difficult, but also because multiple agencies oversee the nation’s fisheries.
Florida became a leader in protecting sharks in the 1990s as populations dwindled. Today, there are 16 species that can be harvested recreationally, with rules on fishing practices and limits on size and quantity.
About 25 shark species are prohibited from harvest in Florida waters, which extend 3 miles from the coast.
In 2019, the state issued its first shore-based shark fishing rules in an effort to reduce the number of sharks that die after being caught and dragged to the beach.
As recently as last year, Florida lawmakers approved the Kristin Jacobs Ocean Conservation Act, which prohibits the import, export and sale of shark fins separated from the body. There are exceptions for commercial fishermen with permits, but FWC this year will consider the effects of a total ban.
“A lot of fishermen are complaining, but, sadly, I think it could be good news because it means the shark populations are becoming more healthy and robust,” said Florida Atlantic University shark expert Stephen Kajiura.