After Massachusetts fishermen had been seen ‘targeting’ white sharks, state seems to higher prohibit shore-based shark fishing

It’s already unlawful for fishermen to draw or seize a fantastic white shark, however Bay State officers are proposing new guidelines to higher prohibit shore-based shark fishing after anglers had been seen “targeting” the protected species alongside Cape Cod.

The white shark fishing challenge got here to a head final September when fishermen at a Wellfleet seashore reportedly used a drone to drop bait close to surfers to lure a white shark.

Whereas this reported fishing exercise violated the prevailing white shark guidelines, Massachusetts Environmental Police have had a troublesome time imposing the laws as a result of it’s tough to show intent — and anglers will typically declare they’re concentrating on different species of sharks, striped bass, or bluefish.

Because of this, the state Division of Marine Fisheries is pitching extra easy guidelines that may management white shark fishing to assist with enforcement.

The laws would ban shore-based shark fishing alongside the Massachusetts coast the place white sharks are frequent, prohibit chumming when conducting any shore fishing, and restrict the launching of baits to regular casting when shore fishing.

These guidelines could be in place alongside the Massachusetts shoreline from the New Hampshire border by way of Chatham, together with all of Monomoy Island, apart from the shores inside Plymouth, Kingston, and Duxbury Bays.

“There have been increasing reports of people fishing for sharks from beaches, especially along the Outer Cape,” Megan Winton of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy informed the Herald. “We’re very supportive of the proposed regulations… They would be a step in the right direction.”

The waters alongside the South Cape and Islands, the place leisure shark fishing for non-white shark species has traditionally occurred, are usually not included within the proposal.

Additionally, the state would exempt the shoreline contained in the Three Bays system as a result of there’s a standard shore-based catch and launch sand tiger shark fishery there.

Again in 2015 as Cape Cod was turning into a white shark hotspot, the state enacted emergency guidelines to deal with public security issues. The prevailing state laws prohibit the power for fishers to focus on white sharks, and it’s unlawful to draw or seize a white shark with out authorization from the DMF director.

The state company has restricted the expansion of actions that may put people involved with white sharks — like baited cage diving — however some shore-based anglers have been concentrating on and touchdown white sharks.

“They’ll post their video on social media because there are no bigger bragging rights,” Winton mentioned.

Then the notorious incident occurred at a Wellfleet seashore final September, which the Provincetown Unbiased delivered to mild. Shore-based anglers had been reportedly concentrating on sharks and had been chumming off the seashore, utilizing drones to deploy baits, and doing so amongst a gaggle of surfers.

The surfers claimed to have seen surfacing white sharks whereas within the water, and that they had been “clotheslined” by the fishing gear. The fishermen prompt the surfers had been deliberately interacting with the fishing gear, and claimed they had been fishing for sharks apart from whites.

“That incident put these regulations on everybody’s radar,” Winton mentioned. “And raised this issue up the flagpole.”

The top of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Fee mentioned he’s nervous in regards to the potential for shore-based shark fishing to broaden.

“My concern is driven by both general interest in this animal and the substantial social media interest around shore-based shark fishing,” wrote Daniel McKiernan, director of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Fee. “Should this growth occur, it would substantially increase the risks to both the public and to white sharks.

“In response, DMF has developed a series of proposals that I view as being commonsense steps to make the existing regulatory framework more enforceable and constrain burgeoning fishing activities that may potentially lead to intended or unintended interactions with white sharks resulting in harm to the animal and a public safety risk,” he added. “My proposals are also informed by existing regulations in other jurisdictions with traditional shore-based shark fisheries, including New York and Florida.”