Florida tightens shark fishing rules

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has approved a series of rules to protect sharks.

Shark fishing has been strictly regulated in Florida since 1992 with a one-fish-per-person/two-fish-per-vessel daily bag limit for all recreational and commercial harvesters, a prohibition on nearly two dozen overfished or rare shark species, and a ban on the cruel and wasteful practice of harvesting only shark fins.

On Thursday the FWC approved rules prohibiting the harvest of sandbar, silky and Caribbean sharpnose sharks from state waters all of which are considered overfished. The rules also establish a 54-inch fork length minimum size limit for most shark species to help protect the juveniles of 14 species of sharks in Florida waters. In addition, the rules prohibit the removal of shark heads and tails at sea, allow only hook-and-line gear to harvest sharks, and make other administrative and technical rule changes.

These rules take effect in mid-January.

The FWC has also proposed a draft rule that would prohibit all recreational and commercial harvest of lemon sharks from Florida waters. Lemon sharks are slow-growing, produce relatively few offspring and are highly susceptible to fishing pressure, especially when they aggregate in shallow waters close to the shore. A final public hearing on the proposed lemon shark rule will be held during the February FWC meeting in Apalachicola.


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