FWC moves to protect tiger sharks, hammerheads
News Release
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Media contact: Amanda Nalley, 850-410-4943
(Back to Commission meeting news)
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) moved Nov. 16 to prohibit the harvest of tiger sharks and three species of hammerheads from state waters in an effort to further protect these top predators that rely on Florida waters to survive.
The action was taken during the first day of the Commission's two-day meeting in Key Largo.
"Sometimes the appropriate measures of conservation are the problems we avoid, not the problems we have to fix," said Commissioner Brian Yablonski.
The new measures, which also prohibit the possession, sale and exchange of tiger sharks and great, scalloped and smooth hammerhead sharks harvested from state waters, will go into effect Jan. 1, 2012. These sharks can still be caught and released in state waters and can be taken in adjacent federal waters.
The change got its start in 2010, after concerned citizens, shark researchers and shark anglers expressed their desires to the Commission to see increased protections for sharks.
Florida waters offer essential habitat for young sharks, which is important for species such as the slow-to-reproduce tiger shark, which takes about 15 years to reach maturity.
Sharks have been strictly regulated in Florida since 1992, with a one-shark-per-person, two-sharks-per-vessel daily bag limit for all recreational and commercial harvesters and a ban on shark finning. Roughly two-dozen overfished, vulnerable or rare shark species are catch-and-release only in Florida waters.
The FWC is also working on an educational campaign highlighting fishing and handling techniques that increase the survival rate of sharks that are caught and released while ensuring the safety of the anglers targeting them.
For more information on shark fishing, visit MyFWC.com/Fishing and click on "Saltwater Fishing" and either "Recreational Regulations" or "Commercial."
Updated November 16, 2011
Hook and line are the only allowable gear for harvesting sharks and the use of natural bait when using multiple hooks is prohibited
Minimum fork length of 54 inches for all sharks (excluding Atlantic sharpnose, blacknose, blacktip, bonnethead, finetooth, and smooth dogfish)
Maximum of 1 shark per harvester per day or 2 per vessel, whichever is less
Sharks are to be landed in whole condition, this includes landing sharks with heads and tails intact
All harvest of the following shark species is prohibited: Atlantic Angel, Basking, Bigeye Sand Tiger, Bigeye Sixgill, Bigeye Thresher, Bignose, Caribbean Reef, Caribbean Sharpnose, Dusky, Galapagos, Lemon, Longfin Mako, Narrowtooth, Night, Silky, Sand Tiger, Sandbar, Sevengill, Sixgill, Smalltail, Whale, and White
All harvest of Spiny Dogfish, Manta Ray, Spotted Eagle Ray, and Sawfish is also prohibited
NEW Regulations
At the November 16, 2011 the FWC Commissioners passed a rule that prohibits the recreational and commercial harvest of great, scalloped, and smooth hammerhead sharks, and tiger sharks from state waters. The rule will take effect January 2, 2012.
Hook and line are the only allowable gear for harvesting sharks and the use of natural bait when using multiple hooks is prohibited so what we going back to yoyo's ....lmfao
Hook and line are the only allowable gear for harvesting sharks
what are they trying to say with this .... what we can,t use a rod... lol ...
if the close hammer and tiger they should open jewfish. if you take some thing from us open some thing that has been closed for 20 years.
Based on what's in that article, using two hook rig won't be allowed anymore, or it could just mean trouble hooks. I'm confused.
you can use to hook but the have to be single hook .. you can have as many hook as you want.. you can't use trouble hooks...
yea you are allowed 2 hooks just not a treble hook
Hook and line are the only allowable gear for harvesting sharks .. what they saying with
that..
Hook and line are the only allowable gear for harvesting sharks .. what they saying with
that..
no net, no spearfishing just line an hook, but not necessary yoyo can be reels and rod
Since when can u not keep lemons wtf??
Since when can u not keep lemons wtf??
since 01-01-2011, which makes me wonder, now that for 01-01-2012 hammerheads and tigers are banned EVEN THOUGH THEY SAY THAT THE NUMBER OF TIGERS ALREADY INCREASE DOAGH!!!! ----- whats the agenda to ban for 01-01-2013?
Going in this direction in 10 years fishing for sharks in florida will be prohibited ...
So, they didn't ban tigers when they were almost depleted but they ban now when the number already start to come back - ISN'T THAT FULL OF SHIT???
Since everything is being banned around here, i heard nurse shark tastes great! Never tried it but i'll have to cook one before it becomes illegal lol.
we heard it was good to so we tried it. i thought it was absolutly disgusting and so did my cousins. maybe it was just that shark though
nurse shark is good if cooked right tastes like redfish they eat a lot of crustaceans gotta filet em alive or let soak in milk just like every other shark or its gonna taste like piss lol but nurse is really good fried, blackened, or saute'd lol