Petition Seeks to Ban Land-Based Shark Fishing on Marco

Hooked in the mouth and dragged toward Marco Island’s beaches, sharks have a growing number of advocates who walk and live along the beach.

Beachfront condominium owners created a petition to end shark fishing from the beaches of Marco Island because they say it deteriorates the quality of the beach and threatens safety for people, sharks and sea turtles. 

“There are so many points of view,” said Marco Island City Manager Mike McNees. 

There are people who say the beach used to be a place for lounging and now it’s for shark fishing. 

“There are also people who say that there were people here shark fishing long before the condominiums,” said McNees. 

Petition to Ban Shark Fishing

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. 

The petition, “End Shark Fishing and Blood Baiting Practices in Marco Island,” posted on Change.org on March 31, 2024, needs approximately 50 more signatures to reach the 2,500 goal, as of August 19.

The petition laments the safety of swimmers and sharks due to shark fishing from land.

“Once caught, these sharks become disoriented and struggle to return to their natural deep-water habitat, often lingering in shallow waters for hours after release,” the petition states.

This struggling to swim away may be observed when watching shark fishermen take out their circle hooks and release their catches, leading the sharks farther from the beach. 

However, the sharks do inhabit shallow waters, swimming in one or two feet of water, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which enforces shark fishing regulations.

“More than 13 species of shark use these areas as nursery grounds for their pups,” FWC reports.

Some opponents compare shark fishing to trophy hunting.

Wheeler anticipates taking the issue to City Council in the fall when he and other condo owners return from their northern homes.

“You should be able to restrict what happens in front of your building,” said Wheeler. “Our intent is to pursue this and see it to the end,” he added.

And he’s looking for support. 

Whose Rights Are Threatened?

Law enforcement is caught in the middle of the debate between shore fishing opponents and shark fishermen. 

“Both people have a right to be there, whether fishing or shelling,” said McNees.

“About 99 percent of the time, if the City gets involved, it’s when conflicting rights come into play,” said McNees.

But, in this situation, McNees is not aware of conflicting rights, he said. 

“People want to lament the loss of the fishing village of Marco Island and yet they want to kick fishermen off the beach,” said McNees.

Fishermen have a right to fish as long as they follow state regulations, McNees said. Further, the beach cannot be owned, it’s public, he added. 

Chumming the Waters

There has not been a documented report of chumming on Marco Island in 2024, according to law enforcement. Instead, the fishermen often cut bait and bring it out a few hundred feet, attached to their fishing line by either a kayak or a drone. The drone is a safer way, said charter fisherman Capt. David Boggs, because it allows the fisherman to stay near their rod and reel while casting the bait. 

“Putting bait in the water is not chumming,” said McNees. 

Current Regulations

Marco Island’s Beach Ordinance reads: “It shall be unlawful for any person while on the Beach or within 1,000 feet from shore to fish for sharks or to fish by those methods commonly known as chumming or blood baiting.” 

City Code also says: “Nothing herein shall be construed to create a duty of any sort on the part of any law enforcement officer or city employee to prevent fishing or to warn of the presence of sharks in the Gulf of Mexico.”

This ordinance frustrates land-based shark fishing opponents.

“It doesn’t say it can’t be enforced. It does say they aren’t obligated to enforce it,” said Wheeler.

“If it can’t be enforced and it won’t be enforced, why have it?” Wheeler asks. 

McNees said the ordinance is being amended to follow state regulations, which allow shark fishing from land and prohibits chumming. 

“In terms of the larger picture of shark fishing, there hasn’t been any impetus for the city to take any further steps to ban it or regulate it other than what’s in the law,” McNees said.

Shore-based shark fishing is legal in Florida with a license and regulations are taught during a free course. 

“The beach, past what used to be defined as the mean high water line, is public,” said McNees.

“You can’t ban people from being there,” McNees said.

If shark fishing occurs while people are swimming and poses a danger, that will be addressed, McNees said. 

The shark fishermen are setting up near sunset and begin fishing when people leave the water, according to law enforcement. 

Shark Fishing Violations

Land-based shark fishermen have not been violating regulations on Marco Island beaches in 2024, according to public records obtained from law enforcement as of August 19. Some report details remain pending from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.

Though police are called on a regular basis due to the perception of violations, when they arrive, no violations are seen, Marco Island police officials have reported. 

People fishing from boats near Marco Island had several FWC infractions this summer, but none were land-based shark fishing. 

Still, there are behaviors that shark fishing experts say are concerning. 

Some fishermen, including many who are younger, use inappropriate and less expensive, equipment, which poses safety threats to the fish and fishermen, said Boggs.

Beachgoers reported seeing a deceased hammerhead shark on the beach this summer. FWC had no record of the death, according to recent public records.

FWC reported one deceased lemon shark on Marco Island since May and it was found on August 8, according to FWC spokesperson Kelly Richmond. The cause of death was not noted. 

FWC encourages the public to report fish kills on the Fish Kill Hotline, MyFWC.com/Fishkill or 800-636-0511.

Alternatives to Land-based Shark Fishing

Wheeler and other opponents suggested fishing from the water rather than land.

“As a fishing guide, my job is to take clients where the sharks are,” he said.

“If I can’t fish from the beach and my job is to catch fish, then I’ll go 50 yards off the beach, in the daytime and fish the same spot,” said Boggs.

“The rules are completely different from a boat. You can chum from a boat. You can create a feeding frenzy from a boat,” said Boggs. “We don’t want to do that,” he said. 

Wheeler too considered the possibility of setting parameters on Marco’s shore fishing, such as time constraints, to allow fishing at reasonable hours when swimming is not occurring, such as after sunset, but not as late as 1 a.m., as sometimes occurs, he said.

Florida Cities Passing Shark Fishing Bans

Some Florida cities have banned shark fishing, including the city of Indian Shores, which passed an ordinance in 2023 to ban shark fishing on their beaches, which are south of Clearwater in Pinellas County. The ban came after a pregnant tiger shark was killed with 40 pups inside her earlier that year, according to reports.

FWC officials reported the pregnant shark died during the course of fishing, but there was not a record of a related citation issued. 

Redington Shores, also in Pinellas County, passed a shark-fishing related ordinance more strict than state guidelines in December 2023. 

Florida Amendment 2

In response to such fishing and hunting regulations, an amendment to the Florida constitution has been proposed. Voters will see Amendment 2 on their ballots on Nov. 5, 2024. The text of the amendment reads: “Right to Fish and Hunt — Fishing, hunting, and the taking of fish and wildlife, including by the use of traditional methods, shall be preserved forever as a public right and preferred means of responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife. This section does not limit the authority granted to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission under Section 9 of Article IV.”

To learn more, visit Yeson2Florida.com and NoTo2.org.

Shark and Human Safety

“Some of the pictures of the hooks I’ve seen, they look to me, they look very harmful,” said Wheeler. “To be able to remove them is quite a task,” he said.

McNees pointed out misinformation and misconceptions are part of the ongoing safety debate.

“There is this notion that these fishermen are attracting sharks. But it’s the other way around. The sharks are attracting the fishermen,” said McNees. “The sharks were already there,” he added.

As for human safety, McNees said he is not aware of any threat. There has not been a report of a life-threatening shark bite of a person on the beaches of Marco Island. 

“Sharks are under more threat from us than we are from them,” said McNees.

Although commercial fishing is the main threat to sharks, individual sport fishing is also a threat to some shark species, particularly hammerheads in Florida, according to shark specialist David Shiffman, who earned a PhD in environmental science studying at the University of Miami and conducting shark research in Florida.

Turtles and Sharks

A shark was seen on video eating a turtle, said Wheeler, adding that he was concerned for turtles’ safety due to sharks.

“The turtles rule between May 1 and Nov. 1,” Wheeler said. 

He hopes turtle advocates will join his cause to oppose shark fishing on the beach.