Florida: Santa Rosa Commission discusses shark fishing

SANTA ROSA COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

MEMORANDUM

TO:               Board of Commissioners
FROM:         Hunter Walker, County Administrator
DATE:          June 5, 2012
SUBJECT:  Navarre Beach Pier Shark Fishing

Commissioner Melvin received a complaint about shark fishing on Navarre Beach Pier, specifically the walking of a hooked shark by a fisherman until it was over land, proximate to beachgoers adjacent to the Pier. This is commonly referred to as beaching a shark that is too large to gaffe and reel to the Pier.

Staff contacted personnel at the Okaloosa County and Pensacola Beach fishing piers and both prohibit chumming for shark and both require that a shark inadvertently hooked by pier fisherman, be immediately released by cutting fishing line. Currently the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier prohibits chumming for shark, but does not prohibit fishermen from landing/gaffing or beaching sharks hooked from Pier.

The policy options for the Board appear as follows:

  • continue status quo (prohibit chumming, but allow shark fishing from Pier.
  • continue to allow sharks hooked from Pier to be gaffed and brought onto Pier, but prohibit beaching of shark too large to gaffe.
  • prohibit shark fishing from Pier and require fishing lines of inadvertently hooked sharks to be cut.

Source: Santa Rosa County

 

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