Marco Island Shuts Down Beach Shark Fishing Charters

City of Marco Island officials put an end to what became controversial shark fishing charters off Marco Island's South Beach. 

Marco Island Code Enforcement Officer John Negra cited David Boggs, who operates Marco Island Sharks as a land-based shark fishing charter, on Monday, August 12. The notice of violation cites code 54-36-1, requiring that Boggs have a permit to operate a business on the beach. It gives Boggs until Sept. 30 to come into compliance or face the Special Magistrate. 

“I’ll keep shark fishing. I just won’t charge for it,” said Boggs. 

Residents had complained that the city had an ordinance prohibiting shark fishing on beaches and yet did not enforce it. However, as of Monday, Marco Island amended the code of ordinances to specifically align with state statute, which allows shark fishing as long as the individual has a shark fishing permit from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The distinction though, is that Marco Island can prohibit a beach business, as long as Boggs is charging someone for the shark fishing. 

Dan Smith, director of the City of Marco Island’s community affairs, does not consider land based shark fishing charters a valid business operation, he said.  

“I handle interpretation of the code when these things come up. We have a lot of rules and regulations. I’ve been here seven years, and this was never brought to my attention until a couple weeks ago,” Smith said.  

“He [Boggs] is not chartering anything. He’s not a boat owner,” Smith said. “I don’t even think that’s a valid statement, chartering. Charter fishing is when you take someone on a vessel of some kind. Usually, you have a boat or some type of vehicle,” said Smith.  

“If charging for it, it’s a business,” he added.  

Boggs has said he will apply for the permit to become a vendor on the beach. 

Because Smith does not believe charter shark fishing from a beach is a valid concept, an application for a beach vendor permit will not likely be approved, city officials said. 

Smith used the example of a pharmacy applying for city approval. Smith would check the website and if it’s not a pharmacy but rather manufacturing widgets, it would not be approved, Smith said. Similarly, if Boggs isn’t taking people shark fishing by boat, Smith said it’s not a fishing charter, in his opinion.  

“He [Boggs] is calling himself a charter captain and he’s not that either. He’s commercial fishing off the beach,” said Smith.  

Commercial fishing, though, implies Boggs is selling the fish, but he’s not selling sharks or fish.  

Boggs can often be observed on Marco Island’s South Beach, sometimes sharing his equipment and showing people how to catch and release sharks from an hour before sunset through midnight or later.  

Other people earning money off beach activities, including shelling, sometimes by boat and sometimes by land tour, and beach photography, are business operations that have been observed recently alongside shark fishing. 

“If it’s a one-off, I’m sure it’s not going to be a big issue. If everyone keeps themselves in check, it goes under the radar and no one will pay attention to it,” said Smith. “Otherwise, we go down that road and shut down every commercial vendor on the beach and have a little civil war,” Smith said.  

“It doesn’t come to head until it comes to your backyard,” said Smith. This may have never reached the level of a notice of violation if it were on a secluded beach instead of someone’s backyard with swimmers, said Smith.  

Residents called Marco Island Police when shark fishermen were observed on the beach, particularly at night. For several months, law enforcement did not report any violations among the fishermen on the beach until the business operations came to light, officials said.  

Boggs’ website, MarcoIslandSharks.com, allows people to book online for shark fishing charters lasting six to 24 hours and ranging in price from $750 to $2,400 for overnight adventures.  

While these steps by the city put an end to the business of shark fishing, Marco Island condominium owners and other beachgoers have expressed a desire to end shark fishing from Marco’s beaches altogether.  

Wayne Wheeler, president of the 72-unit Sandpiper Condominium, located on Collier Boulevard, south of Winterberry Drive, is among the leading opponents to shark fishing from Marco’s beaches and was named the point of contact for a petition calling for an end to Marco Island’s shark fishing. Wheeler said he intends to take the matter to City Council when he returns to Marco Island this fall.  

The petition, “End Shark Fishing and Blood Baiting Practices in Marco Island,” posted on change.org on March 31 exceeded the initial goal of gaining 2,500 signatures, reaching nearly 3,000 signatures as of Sept. 9. Many comments on the petition cite either a perceived increased risk to swimmers or animal cruelty as their reasons for opposition to shark fishing, including seeing the fishermen take videos and photographs of sharks out of the water, instead of releasing sharks more quickly.  

In August, one teenage shark fisherman said he received an injury to his leg while fishing a lemon shark, but he returned to shark fishing days later.  

Requests to FWC for records and comment are pending regarding community concerns about recently removing great hammerhead sharks from Marco Island’s waters for photographs, a move that is supposed to be avoided for the safety of this species of sharks, as well as recent fishing of the endangered smalltooth sawfish. These have been caught off Marco Island and Naples in the past and returned back to the water without incident or violation. 

In the meantime, Boggs’ consequences for operating a beach business will be left to the magistrate, said Smith.  

“The magistrate will give a fine or say, ‘don’t do it again,’” Smith said.  

Boggs may not get a fine if he stops operating the business and attempts to get the permit or fines could be $250 for a first offense; be tallied per day of offense; or the violation could be considered irreparable or irreversible at a fine of $5,000, according to Marco Island law enforcement. 

According to the NOV, Boggs may go before a magistrate as early as Oct. 29, 2024. 

If You Encounter the Shark-like Sawfish 

Observation of the endangered sawfish were reported on Marco Island recently. FWC requests sightings and encounters with the rare sawfish, named after their snout’s saw-like appearance, be reported to FWC. Email sawfish@MyFWC.com or call 1-844-4SAWFISH. 

Since 2023, the shark-like fish are being spotted spinning in waters and deceased. 

Tips when seeing a sawfish include: 

Leave it alone. It is against state law to harm, harass or possess a sawfish.  

If a sawfish is caught accidentally, the fish will flail its tooth-lined snout, which can easily cut a person and damage a boat. Keep the fish in the water. 

The sawlike rostrum should not be used to support the weight of the fish out of the water. 

Remove the hook or cut the line or leader as close to the hook as possible. Excess line may become wrapped around the fish’s snout or become entangled with a structure. 

Release the fish as quickly as possible. 

When reporting sawfish sightings and encounters to FWC, note the approximate size of the fish, the location and distinguishing markings. If the fish has a tracking tag, record the identification number and include photos, if possible.