PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. -- Some changes could be on the way when it comes to reeling in sharks in Florida.
- FWC considering revising rules for shore-based shark fishing
- Reasoning includes safety of swimmers, conservation of sharks
- Click HERE for schedule of workshops
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is looking for public input on possible changes to regulations governing shore-based shark fishing at public beaches and piers.
Some ideas being considered include requiring a special permit for shark fishing and only allowing shark anglers to fish at night.
Part of the reasoning supporting revising the rules is to protect swimmers at busy beaches.
That, however, doesn’t make much sense to Mike Loudenslager, a shark angler who casts his lines near the Sunshine Skyway fishing pier.
“Sharks are going to be by the shore regardless whether we are catching them or not,” said Loudenslager. “It is just part of living here.”
Another reason for the proposed changes is to protect the sharks. They are often caught for sport and released, but there’s been a recent uptick in social media posts showing anglers holding the sharks out of the water, sitting on them and even holding their mouths open.
FWC is hosting a series of public workshops to collect feedback on the subject. The first is tonight at State College of Florida in Bradenton at 6 p.m.
Additional meetings are planned throughout August in Panama City, Pensacola, South Daytona, Jacksonville, Melbourne Beach, West Palm Beach, Miami and Key Colony Beach.