Navarre pier ban on shark fishing. Please help!!

This sickens me! If they could potentially no longer allow shark fishing then where else would we show our passion. Other piers like Okaloosa or Pensacola pier have either done away with it or only alow the use of a 4/0 . Still looking forward to fishing with you Earnie.

I just sent them an email. I believe that it is important that we make sure that decisions like these are not made on fears of people that aren't true. This area is close to where I fish, and I would hate to see shark fishing be banned in the area I fish.

Looks like my entire week is going to be spent being a computer nerd thanks to a bunch of jerks..writing letter tonight..I will have other people write them too.

I really appreciate it guys. The more emails they receive the more chance we have, so voice ya opinion no matter where ya from. The visitors are important too.

Sent.

Once again the hatred and fear of sharks is in the spotlight,this time in Navare beach,We have been down these paths before but mostly by city commisions of seaside communities trying to pass Shark Fishing Bans from the beach.Over the last several years there has been much written on this website and others about this same subject and we have had some success addressing the rights of the shark fishermen.Here is a writeup by Capt Wayne Slusser on boatlessfishing that points to a fight won by the shark fishermen.the research must be done and the correct commisioners emailed and written to .Another great resource is the Boca Raton Marine advisory attorney Blaine Dickinson(an avid shorebound fishermen) who stood up for us when the city he represents tried to pass a Shark Fishing Ban.Ive given this post because I want to urge every shark fishermen on this site to get involved and write the Navarre commisioners to voice our comittment to defend shark fishing rights from the Navarre pier.

A post by Capt Wayne Slusser on boatlessfishing.
"Guys... YOU HAVE TO GO TO THESE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS!!!!!!!!!

They can't just pass these bans, there is a process that the city has to go through, but if you do not attend these meetings, there is not opposition to passing them. Get to know the council members. Look up the meetings and agendas for those meetings, as a voter these people are supposed to work for you, not against you. When you go tot these meetings, you have to voice your opinion. Keep it simple, stick to the facts. Most shark fishing occurs at night, when there are no swimmers, surfers, or other large numbers of people in the water, the winter / spring spinner and tip migration is about to start… there will be more sharks in near shore now than anytime of the year, how many bites have occurred in the past along this same time frame. You will have to do some research and work will be required on your part. When you go to these meetings, explain to the council members that by being on the beaches at night, you can provide a service for them. You can be their eyes and ears on the beaches in the middle of the night. You can look out for vandals, theft, boats coming ashore or dropping off “cargo” and you will call the authorities immediately. Get to know the police officers that patrol the beaches in your area, get their direct numbers so that you can call them in a hurry if you need to.

These bans are unconstitutional, but most of these city councils either don’t know it or don’t care, you can overturn them, but it is a job. The first thing you need to do is get familiar with the local ordinances and the State Constitution. Once you have that, send a well written letter to the City Attorney, informing them of the unconstitutionality, and discriminatory issues with banning one type, style, or species of fish. They have to ban ALL fishing, not just one aspect of it, and then ONLY if they can PROVE a public safety concern with fishing on the beaches. They pass these ordinances hoping that they will not be challenged. If you do not stand up for your rights, this will continue to happen. Then, all you will be able to do is cry about it on a forum. I just went through a similar issue last summer. I know it will work, but there is some research and work required on your part. OUR FREEDOMS ARE NOT FREE.

""Today I was contacted by Sun Sentinel writer Rebecca Monson about the propsed Boca Raton shark fishing ban.I represented the land-based shark fisherman to the best of my ability I told her thisproposed ban is once again based on fear and ignorance -how the shark fisherman are not endangering the bathers.I Challenged her to find an incident where a beachgoer had been attacked due to a shark fisherman .I indicated to her that the ban goes against the state's constitution and offered her proof that shark fisherman are having there rights trampled.She was impressed with the depth of knowledge and passion we feel for our sport .She encouraged us to attend and to hire a law firm to represent Florida's land-based shark fisherman.I have tried to contact folks at the IGFA but have not been able to contact anyone via the phone today ,i will try again in the morning.

Once again in a different municipality Boca Raton going after the land based shark fisherman .Let's fight them ,lets get a lawyer to stand up for our Florida constitution rights.What we need RIGHT NOW is a law firm to represent us against the City attorney to let them know that there ban will be going against the state constitution and that we will fight them .We need to demonstrate our desire to fight them ,and to let them know we are well informed and have the tools to go against them. This ban is not in effect and if we act now we can fight these people."" ,,,,,WF

VERY IMPORTANT POST TO DEFEND OUR RIGHTS BELOW IN BOATLESS
http://www.boatlessfishing.com/forum/vi ... e520c98408
Read this for more insight as to what we can do then post a comment or let us know of a lawyer we can get for tommorows commision meeting.

Sent!! give'em heck wish i could be there!

An attempt by Indian River county to ban Shark Fishing a few years back and the backlash it created.

MAY 13,2010 (TWO PARTS)

County turns to state over shark chumming ban
Reported by: TCPalm
Last Update: 5/13 12:18 pm

INDIAN RIVER SHORES - Local Realtor Lenora Mustapick photographed the first ever Shorebound Shark Tournament held in Indian River Shores in July of 2007. (tcpalm.com) INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Before county leaders draft a law against fishing or baiting for sharks, Vero Beach shark expert Grant Gilmore told commissioners Tuesday, they need to have much more data to show the practice poses a risk for swimmers.

But commissioners held off on ordering a study or drafting a local law, opting instead to ask state lawmakers to consider the issue.

“This is more of a state issue and the state needs to weigh in,” commission Chairman Peter O’Bryan said. “Otherwise (with a local law) we just move the problem in front of someone else’s beach.”

In an informal consensus, commissioners asked County Attorney Alan Polackwich to draft letters asking the Legislature or the Florida Association of Counties to consider an anti-chumming law.

“I’m disappointed,” Commissioner Joe Flescher said. “I think they just didn’t get the public safety issue.”

Polackwich had invited Gilmore to discuss the possible risks of shark bait in the water of swimming beaches after Flescher last month called for an ordinance banning the practice. Indian River Shores residents had complained about anglers reeling large sharks onto county beaches near swimmers.

Gilmore, president of Estuarine, Coastal and Ocean Science Inc., said he didn’t have the answers — although it would be a study worth doing.

Gilmore said the area from New Smyrna Beach south to Martin County has the highest incidence of shark attacks in the world, most of them by blacktip or spinner sharks that mistake hands or feet for fish.

“(By baiting to catch sharks) are we increasing the potential for danger that already exists?” he asked. “I think that’s a question that needs to be answered.”

Questioned by Polackwich, Gilmore suggested $50,000 could pay for analysis of existing reports and surveys of shark fishermen for a one-year period to address all the seasons.

The Delray Beach City Commission in July passed an ordinance banning shark-fishing within 300 feet of the city beach. But Polackwich suggested that was a knee-jerk approach instead of a legal or scientific consideration.

Flescher, however, bristled at the idea of needing a study to justify what he said was the common sense of keeping beaches safe.

“This issue is here because sharks are being lured into the beach community, simply put,” Flescher said.

Commissioner Bob Solari said he didn’t want to effectively punish true sportsmen, who don’t use chum to fish for sharks, all because of “a few idiots” who do. He and commissioners Wesley Davis and Gary Wheeler objected to making new laws to establish what they said should be common sense, that swimming near large sharks is dangerous.

“It’s not the goal of government to establish a protective envelope to address individual citizens,” Solari said.

Reported by By Henry A. Stephens, Staff writer, tcpalm.com.

APRIL 26,2010
Sad news for the land-based shark fisherman of Florida another county is drawing up a proposal to ban shark fishing from there beaches.The time to act is now or we will be be an extinct species of fisherman.Here's the writeup.

http://www.veronews.com/index.php?optio ... ad-stories

Shark fishing making waves with county commissioners PDF Print E-mail
By Debbie Carson - Apr. 26, 2010, 10:04am

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – Shark fishing on the county’s beaches has attracted the attention of one county commissioner who is now asking staff to review the county’s policies and rules.

“I don’t believe this is a safe practice,” said Commissioner Joe Flescher of fishermen attracting sharks toward the shore and then dragging the sea predator up onto the beach near sunbathers.

Flescher said the two most prevalent types of sharks swimming off the coast of Indian River County are bulls and tigers, the second and third most feared shark species behind the great white.

Fellow commissioners agreed that more information about the practice of shark fishing and the ramifications is needed before they proceed with changing or adding any rules.

Commissioners Gary Wheeler and Wesley Davis both said at a recent commission meeting that they would not support out-right banning of shark fishing from the shore.

“They’re after the bait, not the people,” Wheeler said of the sharks.

Flescher told commissioners that the shark fishermen canoe or kayak a bucket of chum out from the shore to attract the sharks to the area. He added that unsuspecting swimmers could be downstream of the bucket.

“I think it’s pretty crystal clear what’s taking place,” Flescher said. “We’re waiting for an accident to happen.”

Wheeler said he has SCUBA dived numerous times and spearfished and never had the misfortune of being on the wrong end of a shark – even while trailing a bloody bag filled with fish.

Commissioner Bob Solari said he has been hiking and out in nature and never been fearful of the wildlife.

“But I’ve never grabbed a panther by the tail,” he said.

He added that shoreline shark fishing near sunbathers and swimmers is the reason why government has to pass laws – people leave common sense and logic at home.

“This is one of the dumbest things on God’s green earth,” Solari said.

While Davis said he would not support banning the shoreline sport, he agreed that the public has a reasonable expectation of safety when they go to the beach.

“It’s the blood in the water that bothers me,” Davis said.

However, sharks are out in the ocean, not far from shore regardless of whether or not fishermen have chummed and baited the water, Commission Chairman Peter O’Bryan said.

Doug Distl, the manager of the Carlton community along the beach, brought the issue to Flescher’s attention, asking him to ban shoreline shark fishing after he found fishermen from outside the area fishing for sharks as part of an Internet-based shark fishing tournament.

Distl told commissioners that they would not want the county to develop the reputation of the “shark fishing capital” of the southeast.

He said that his community has been proactive in warning residents when conditions are unsafe to swim – sending out emails when the fish are running near the shore, which attracts sharks.

“Let’s be proactive,” Distl urged commissioners.

After the meeting and commissioners agreed to get more information before changing or adding rules, Distl expressed disappointment that commissioners were delaying action.

One of the reasons for delay is to allow County Attorney Alan Polackwich to better determine who has jurisdiction over the shore and the waters.

He said a cursory review of state laws suggests the county has jurisdiction and could establish and enforce the rules.

However, Polackwich pointed out a state law that seems to reserve the right to the state to make laws pertaining to saltwater fishing.
ONLY THE STATE AND FWC HAS THE LEGAL RIGHT TO PASS FISHERIES LAWS

Polackwich said the county might be able to establish an overriding rule based on public safety concerns.

“It’s an attraction of sharks issue” not fishing, the attorney said. However, he told commissioners that he could not give a 100 percent guarantee that any county ordinance would withstand a legal challenge from the state.

“Heading down this path is a challenge,” he said.

E-

I respect your fishing reports and catches which are truly something. I am against any type of ban concerning shark fishing. However, posting pictures of dead sharks (mako and sandbars) on a public structure is sort of shooting yourself in the foot. Just Saying. I'll send an email on your behalf this week. Hopefully it does not pass as well as my area's potential ban.

The issue here is not whether a shark should be harvested or released which is totally up to the angler if the shark caught on any pier is not a prohibited species ,,,the issue is whether fishermen be allowed to fish for sharks or not ;simply because a frightened and possibly ignorant person feels that sharks are being drawn too close to a bathing beach next to a fishing pier.Flocks of seagulls come to piers to get a free shot at some baitfish should people who have fear of birds complain to the city that fishing should be BANNED at the pier because of those fear??i DON'T THINK SO.The rights of beach goers and the rights of pier fishermen should be respected but the key word here is EDUCATION -the public should in 2012 better understand that sharks inhabit ALL near shore waters of Florida and fishing for sharks does not pose a threat or attract what already lives there .Again the old stigma of 'fear of sharks' threatens the rights of fishermen.Lets convert the Navarre pier to a sight seeing pier because fishing attracts fish which in turn attracts SHARKS which means that some hapless bather will be devoured eventually,,,,,,,I DON'T THINK SO.

I really hope that the Navarre commision is smart enough to understand the truth and respect the rights of all involved.

I have tag with NOAA tags over 300 sharks.

Email sent, please keep us up to date on this. I have been wanting to take a trip up and fish this pier, hope that doesnt change

Just got an email back from one of the commissioners saying that they would not vote to ban shark fishing due to the fact it has been practiced for so long without incident..hope the others see this issue the same way.

I got a reply, it reads as follows:

Dear Mark,

Thank you for taking the time to contact me on this issue. First, let me say that no body in the county is trying to put a ban on shark fishing, regardless of the propaganda being pushed by the rumor mill on the internet. The discussion will be centered on "beaching" of sharks too large to haul over the rail. We had an event Memorial Day in which someone beached a six foot, 130 pound shark at the foot of the Navarre Pier. As you well know, the pier is basically centered on the public swimming area. Being Memorial Day, the water was packed with bathers. As you can imagine, it created quite a stir. We will be addressing the public safety issues relating to beaching a shark too large to haul over the rails. No body is trying to regulate shark fishing in and of itself. We are going to address the public safety issues that come from beaching a shark too large to haul over the rail.

I hope you continue to visit and fish the Navarre Pier, because it is truly one of a kind.

V/r,
Jim

Commissioner Jim Melvin