A FOREWORD ON THE CONTROVERSY OF LAND BASED SHARK FISHING

These days, it seems that someone cannot turn on their television, listen to the radio, or open a newspaper without being met by some type of major controversy. And for whatever reason, the two sides of any contested topic seem to be more polarized than ever with only extreme and exaggerated viewpoints making the news. Now I am not one to talk religion or politics at the dinner table, but if there is a way to get me fired up, it is when my most deeply held values come under attack.

Lately, the sport of land based shark fishing (LBSF) has made the headlines, and not in a good way. Whether it is a dead shark that washes up on the beach, or a turf war between swimmers and fishermen, bad publicity is not hard to find. To make matters worse, Florida happens to be a worldwide epicenter for shark attacks, and some folks are quick to jump to the conclusion that nearby anglers somehow contributed to those incidents.

As a born and raised native Floridian, sportfishing has been in my blood ever since I can remember. Everything from bluegill to blue marlin has captured my imagination, and I can think of no better place to grow up. Some of my earliest and fondest memories of childhood were of my parents taking me to SeaWorld in Orlando. Of all the exhibits, I was most enamored by the “Shark Encounter,” and the passion for these magnificent animals has not ceased to this day.

I will never forget the first time I had an opportunity to catch a shark on rod and reel. My excitement was hard to contain. The best part was releasing it back into the water and watching it swim free. Looking at a shark in an aquarium was one thing, but to have a personal interaction with one was a profound experience. Fast forward to today, and at the time of this publication, I have released nearly 300 sharks, the vast majority of which were caught from land. It became a challenge to refine my gear and my tactics. I was constantly learning, and my appreciation for our resources and wildlife continued to grow.

I forgot to mention, I am an avid surfer as well. I have spent countless hours with my feet dangling below my board as I wait for my next wave. While I sincerely hope my two hobbies never cross paths, I know better than most that I am sharing the water with sharks at any given time. I am a guest in their territory and not the other way around. Whatever reason I find myself at the beach, I recognize that everyone else has their own reason for being there, and that reason may not be the same as mine.

The controversy over land based shark fishing is centered around two primary themes:

1. shark fishing is detrimental to shark populations, and
2. shark fishing poses a hazard to people in the water nearby.

I suppose it is only appropriate that one of nature’s most misunderstood animals is shrouded by misguided myths regarding human interactions with them; it is my hope to help spread awareness and education on the subject by discussing each of these two themes in further detail.

The current controversy is not isolated to just shark fishing from the beach, but extends to any shore-based location, including the Spoil Islands

Is Shark Fishing Detrimental to Shark Populations?

How does land based shark fishing affect the sharks? While I won’t claim to have formally studied this to have my findings published in a reputable scientific journal, spending a lot of time on the water over the years provides plenty of opportunity for observation.

For starters, modern shark anglers do not hate sharks. The concept of the “sportsman” may be hard for some to grasp, after all I suppose it is a bit counter-intuitive. But to clarify: deer hunters do not hate deer. Duck hunters do not have a personal vendetta against waterfowl. Even when the sport results in the legal harvest of that animal, the individuals partaking are doing so out of their passion for the outdoors and a deep personal connection with that species.

Us humans have had a rocky past, where many species were hunted to the brink of extinction (or in some unfortunate cases, actual extinction). But when those species are able to make a rebound, most often sportsman are the ones to thank. Funds from the sales of hunting and fishing licenses finance scientific research and management endeavors. Add in the economic value of the fishing and hunting industries, and behold a powerful force for conservation. After all, the people that enjoy those sports want to continue to enjoy those sports year after year.

Harvest of certain shark species within specified size and bag limits is permitted, and some folks choose to keep their catch. I cannot fault anyone for that. Those regulations are put in place to ensure populations remain sustainable, and as new research comes in, those regulations are adjusted accordingly. However, I personally do not advise that people harvest sharks for their food value. While the meat doesn’t taste bad, elevated levels of mercury and other toxins are often present. A shark is an apex predator that grows slowly and can live for a long time. When any animal consumes a toxin such as mercury it remains in their body for its entire life. If that animal is then eaten by a predator, the predator now absorbs the toxins of their prey. That cycle continues on up to the top of the food chain to species like sharks, or by our own choosing, humans. The safest fish for human consumption are generally small or fast-growing species.

The ironic part about the critical viewpoint against recreational shark fishing, is that for the vast majority of anglers, the goal is catch and release. Long gone are the days where people believed “the only good shark is a dead shark.” I remember the first time I caught a shark that someone else had tagged. In the wee hours in the middle of an ordinary night, I reeled in a lemon shark with a tag sticking out of its back, just below the dorsal fin. Not having any prior knowledge of shark tagging, I took some measurements, snapped a couple pictures of the shark and the tag number, and quickly returned it to the sea.

Upon my return home, I Googled “shark tagging”, and the first website on my search results happened to be the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Shark Tagging Program. I filled out a simple form documenting the details of the catch, and emailed it in. A few weeks later, I received a package with in the mail which included a hat, some stickers, and all sorts of information about my shark. It turns out, I was the fourth person to recapture that particular shark, and my information added to the story of where the shark travelled and how big it grew. How cool!

Since then, I have started tagging sharks of my own, and there are now dozens of sharks swimming around out there with my tags. The efforts of recreational anglers who report tagged sharks or tag new sharks, contribute meaningful data to the scientific research and conservation for sharks. The tagging program itself is a testament to a successful catch and release fishery. Captured sharks that are released will continue to breed, carry out their role in the ecosystem, and offer sporting opportunities to anglers. For more information on shark tagging, view my instructional video and also check out the NMFS/NOAA website.

Author Ryan Wood demonstrates how to properly measure, tag, and release a shark.

An unfortunate consequence of recreational angling, is that occasionally sharks will not survive release. In general, sharks are hardy animals, and will swim off just fine, but sometimes this is not the case. Hammerhead sharks appear to be particularly susceptible. However, in my observation, the frequency of angler caused mortality is no greater than any other sportfish. The difference is, the death of a largemouth bass is not something that makes the news. A large shark that washes up dead on a beach will.

Fortunately, the shark fishing community seems to be naturally improving its practices to minimize this occurrence. The use of circle hooks is more prevalent than ever resulting in the hook planting itself safely in the corner of the mouth rather than in the gills or stomach where it can cause major damage. I have found that hookup percentages are actually better with circle hooks over J-hooks, so that is a win-win.

“Shark angling teams are assembling the fishing equivalent of a NASCAR pit crew which are intended to land, unhook, photograph, measure, and release the shark as quickly as possible.”

It used to be a bragging point to tell stories of doing battle with a shark and emerging victorious hours later. Now, the pendulum seems to have swung the other way, where people are using heavier tackle to avoid prolonged fights. Shark angling teams are assembling the fishing equivalent of a NASCAR pit crew which are intended to land, unhook, photograph, measure, and release the shark as quickly as possible.

Folks are recognizing the importance of keeping large sharks at least partially submerged in water when landed from shore to support the animal. Sharks do not have a rib cage (or any bony skeleton for that matter), and their own weight unsupported for an extended period of time can crush their internal organs. Beaching a shark is fine as long as it is done quickly. Having caught sharks from both the shore and by boat, I can say it is far safer for the angler (and thus the shark) to unhook a shark on land then it is in the water. In either case, if the hook cannot be safely removed, best practice is to cut the line as close to the hook as possible, and the salt water will rust out the hook before too long.

These measures are good for the sport and good for the sharks. However, negative media attention continues to be directed to a niche group of recreational anglers, and a rare occurrence of incidents. Meanwhile catastrophic commercial practices such as shark finning remain in place around the world decimating shark populations by the millions. Critics need to realize the big-picture benefits of recreational angling and direct their attention to the real problems.

Author Ryan Wood documents an outing of shark fishing at Sebastian Inlet.

Does Shark Fishing Pose A Hazard to People in the Water Nearby?

Ever since the movie Jaws premiered in 1975, anyone who enters the water has sharks in the back of their mind. Our culture has adopted the term shark “attack” as commonplace language, but it is not really fitting of reality. “Attack” implies “intent to do harm,” and a wild animal exhibiting its normal behavior to survive is hardly that. Regardless of the proper terminology, people do get bitten by sharks, and a small percentage of those rare encounters are fatal.

Anyone who has witnessed a shark on the hunt will acknowledge it is an impressive sight. Television often does not do it justice. The speed, stealth, and power of these animals is a wonder of the natural world. Every time humans enter the water to swim, surf, snorkel, dive, etc., we take a risk. Granted, the risk is small, but it is there. Most people are blissfully unaware about their proximity to sharks anytime they enter the water.

“While one group of people goes to the beach hoping to never cross paths with a shark, and another group (shark fishermen) come with the goal to tangle with one, controversy is all but inevitable.”

While one group of people goes to the beach hoping to never cross paths with a shark, and another group (shark fishermen) come with the goal to tangle with one, controversy is all but inevitable. These two parties are often sharing the same beach at the same time. Since shark bites on humans are so rare, it would be practically impossible to scientifically determine the effect of shark fishing on the probability of events we know as shark attacks. But, the possibility alone has been enough for some people to call for the increased regulation or outright ban on land based shark fishing. After all, Florida counts on tourism to its beaches, and recreating scenes from Jaws would not be good for business.

The reality is sharks are not bloodthirsty killers. In my observation, sharks rarely exhibit aggressive behavior, and more commonly feed by scavenging. They clean up the ocean from sick, injured, or dead sea life, and get a meal while doing it. It is this behavior that shark anglers use as their strategy for catching one. Put a hook in a fish, drop it in the water, and wait for a shark to cruise by and eat it. This practice does not incite a feeding frenzy as some are led to believe.

We are taught that a shark can sense a drop of blood from miles away, and while their sense of smell is indeed remarkable, this is a bit of a myth. In my experience, sharks can be picky eaters, and the mere presence of blood or bait does not cause every shark in the ocean to drop what it is doing and rush toward the spot. This is mainly because the ocean is a big place, and such a small concentration of a shark attracting substance in all that water only goes so far. My observation is that sharks are always present, and they are present because of an abundance of natural food, not the single fish an angler drops for bait. To further my argument, sharks commonly will eat artificial lures and flies. This means sharks feed by sight, sound, and vibrations when smell is removed from the equation.

I think the real root cause of the issue has nothing to do with sharks. It has to do with people. People come to the water’s edge for different reasons and if one party interferes with the experience of someone else (real or perceived), the tempers begin to flare.

Personally, I don’t like fishing near other people primarily for the selfish reason that I think people in the water scare the fish away. I am surprised more people aren’t like that, but I suppose there is some superstition about “secret spots” and such and that may never change. In my observation, the point of contention stems from a perceived sense of “ownership” of a public beach. That is why people get defensive if they are asked to move. I am not advocating cursing others out and lecturing about “rights,” but one form of recreation cannot be considered superior over another.

“People acting responsibly with a code of etiquette is the answer, not unnecessary regulation.”

I think a simple policy for “first come first serve” eliminates most of the problems. If I am fishing, I won’t set my lines on top of swimmers and surfers. If I am surfing, I won’t paddle out over fisherman’s lines. For whatever reason, some people don’t get that. I don’t think it is unreasonable for fisherman and surfers alike to move a couple hundred yards or even a couple miles down the beach if someone else got there first. To be fair, if I am fishing on a secluded stretch of beach early in the morning and it gets crowded as the day goes on, I pack up my things and go home. But if I am all by myself with no one around for 500 yards in either direction, and a surfer paddles out on right top of my shark lines, because I happened to unknowingly plant myself in their “secret surf break,” who is the bad guy? Each party thinks they are more entitled while the other is a nuisance. This happens to me all the time. People acting responsibly with a code of etiquette is the answer, not unnecessary regulation.

If the practice of shark fishing was to be regulated, what would it look like? Could singling out a particular type of fishing even be possible? After all, no one has control over what bites their line. I have caught plenty of trophy fish like tarpon, jack crevalle, and bull redfish on my bait and rigs intended for shark. I have caught sharks by accident while fishing for other species like snook or pompano. I have witnessed more aggressive behavior out of sharks while reeling in a small fish than I do when actually shark fishing. I have caught sharks while casting artificial lures. I would have to believe that an attempt to regulate shark fishing would have to be accomplished by regulating any type of fishing to be effective and enforceable.

Ryan Wood poses for a quick photo on the beach with a shark caught, tagged, and released.

Conclusion

Sharks are a fantastic sportfish. The reasons anglers pursue sailfish or tarpon are the same reasons we fish for sharks. I do not see the controversy subsiding anytime soon. Sadly, responsible shark fisherman face an uphill battle simply because they are outnumbered by general beachgoers who do not feel the same way, regardless of the facts. I am worried about the legacy we are leaving behind to future generations of outdoorsmen and women. I have seen young anglers criticized by other beachgoers for shark fishing. I am a firm believer that our youth needs more tackle boxes and less Xboxes in our society. This is a complex issue, and complex issues rarely have simple solutions. If I were to offer some steps in the right direction, it would be to respect one another, respect our natural resources, and educate the masses about this wonderful sport.

Want to weigh in? Post your thoughts in the comments section below. Be sure to check out Ryan’s channel, RWood Outdoors on YouTube.