http://www.melbournebeachfl.org/pages/M ... %20Fishing
I cannot believe the nerve of some people, some action needs to take place.
This can't be good. It seems as though one group of fishermen has caused this effort due to actively fishing while the locals are swimming & surfing. Engaging in confrontational interactions can only hurt our rights. Cursing at the locals when they have legitimate concerns is not the way to go. It's always best to look for a stretch of beach where there are no people in the water. Then of course, there's the misconception that the bait will increase the number of sharks in the water leading to someone getting bitten. Having the reputations of being thugs will hurt us. Be mindful. Our rights don't mean that we interfere with anybody else's right. Clean up your mess. Show some respect for other people & their rights. It wouldn't hurt to be aware that they plan on sending undercover officers to fish with us so that they can wait & see if we break any laws. William, any ideas? 
these guys definitely aren't helpin the sport! The safety issue is their local goverment's one loop hole to exploit... if they hook into one big shark and a little kid gets line burn or tangled in 200lb mono we're done... of course we weren't there dude could hav been the only one surfin.. they made it sound like they were keepin way over the bag limit to... Glad the FWC is gonna put out an education thing later in the year "Page 3 of the Police Memo" hopefully it will be accurate! and it'll help educate the fear out of people a little... Fishergirl's right though our rights don't mean we interfere with anyone elses and we dont want to we just wanna fish!
I'm smelling another law suit to help these misinformed commisioners and city Mayor change there minds on implementing ANOTHER illegal SHARK FISHING BAN.Shark fishermen should not be fishing during day light hours on crowded beaches ,,that is just common sense ,but our shark fishing rights WILL NOT BE TAKEN AWAY.
ps......FOLKS PLEASE USE COMMON SENSE AND RESPECT THOSE WHO SHARE THE BEACH WITH YOU--BATHERS,TOURIST,SURFERS etc,etc,etc
The May 2014 article below highlights some of our struggles against seaside communities.We have an angel that defends our rights his name is Blaine Dickenson he is an attorney and because he grew up fishing the shorelines of Florida he can relate to our struggles.The Shorebound Anglers Alliance is an Organization that we set up in Florida and Texas to protect the rights of all land-based anglers and to protect our beach access rights.Our Florida law we are protected from harrassment on the beaches but the cities will try every trick in the book to discriminate against the shark fishermen because of the bad reputation that sharks gained over the centuries.As a shark fishermen who has been passionate about the sport I am compelled to protect it all cost, and over the years have attended numerous City commission meetings to defend our sport, and have had many shark fishing buddies who have also attended to voice our concerns about the discrimination against us.Finally a couple of years ago we turned the corner and have started defeating all these people who felt they owned the beaches ,who felt they could trample our rights and that we would not fight back;they have seen first hand our high attendance by concerned anglers at the meetings .Our involvement and the Shorebound Anglers Alliance have made the difference because now they know we are represented by a passionate lawyer/angler and an organization willing to represent the fishermen.
dfleshler@tribune.com, 954-356-4535
Copyright © 2014, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
"Delray Beach is considering banning shark-fishing from shore within 300 feet of its public beach, a move intended to protect both sharks and swimmers. In this file photo, a hammerhead shark, makes it way through the water off the South Florida Coast. (Neil Hammerschlag, Sun Sentinel / April 19, 2011)
Related
Rare 500 pound fish caught off the Boynton Inlet
Rare 500 pound fish caught off the Boynton Inlet
Photos: Amazing pictures of sharks
Photos: Amazing pictures of sharks
Shark fishing videos popular, but are the catches legal?
By David Fleshler, Sun Sentinel
6:10 p.m. EDT, May 28, 2014
They stand on the beach at night and reel in 10-foot great hammerheads and other big sharks.
Now these anglers may find their activities sharply restricted in Delray Beach, the scene of several spectacular YouTube videos of the big predators being hauled ashore and then released.
The City Commission is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a proposal to ban shore-based shark fishing within 300 feet of its public beach and within 300 feet of Atlantic Dunes Park.
Mayor Cary Glickstein said the ban would protect swimmers from encounters with large predators that wouldn't normally come close to shore. Unlike anglers who cast their lines by hand, the shark catchers use kayaks to set baited hooks much farther from shore, in the deeper water inhabited by large sharks.
"It's a public safety issue and also concern for the sharks," he said. "Most fishermen are fishing with small bait and as far out as they can cast. When you're taking half an amberjack and paddling out 200 yards, you're not looking for yellowtail snapper. There's also concern for the sharks themselves. A lot of species are endangered. There's been a lot of press lately about very large sharks being caught from shore."
But supporters of shore-based shark fishing say the activity poses no threat to swimmers and that restrictions threaten a fundamental part of Florida's heritage.
"We see big sharks swimming close to the beach all the time," Adam Fisk, 22, a Delray Beach resident who has been catching sharks from shore for more than two years. "We're not attracting them to the beach. They're there. When we do it, the people aren't swimming. We do it at night."
Photos: Celebrities who served in the military
Setting up at sunset, he has caught tiger sharks, great hammerheads, bull sharks and other species, using hunks of amberjack or barracuda on hooks. He says he always releases them alive.
"There's no point in bringing them back home," he said. "They don't taste good. I would never kill them."
But some sharks caught from shore, such as the great hammerhead, are classified as endangered globally and are protected under state law. While this can allow catch-and-release fishing, experts say many sharks that swim away after their release die later from the ordeal.
"We have a problem with hammerheads because they are so sensitive," said Sonja Fordham, president of Shark Advocates International. "If they get stressed too much, they're likely to die."
The City Commission actually banned shore-based shark fishing along the entire beach in 2009. But the ban was rarely enforced, and then it came under a legal challenge because Florida law reserves the authority to regulate saltwater fishing to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Blaine Dickenson, a Boca Raton lawyer and fisherman, sent a letter to Delray Beach last summer on behalf of Shorebound Anglers Alliance Inc., threatening to sue the city if it didn't repeal the ordinance.
"Fishing happens to be one of my favorite pastimes, and it's statutorily recognized as an important part of our economy, our heritage," said Dickenson, who is handling the matter for free. "Some of these folks seem to think they're the only ones entitled to the beach. Florida is changing, for better and for worse. But I do not want people to lose sight of our heritage, and I don't want people to trample it."
He said the activity posed no risk to swimmers.
"It's a manufactured issue," he said. "There has never been any documented case of anyone being attacked by a shark because of fishing. None of these guys want to fish on a crowded beach."
The city's modification attempts to resolve the legal issue by citing the safety of the public on city-owned land, one of the few areas in which municipalities may restrict saltwater fishing. A memorandum from City Attorney Terrill Pyburn states the compromise was worked out in consultation with the state wildlife commission.
Amanda Nalley, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said that while shark bites are rare, the commission encourages anglers who are targeting sharks from shore to do it away from swimmers or at times when they're not there, as many already do.
While some anglers oppose the modification to be voted on Tuesday, Dickenson said it was better than the outright ban the commission had approved in 2009, leaving them with some areas of open beach from which to fish..
"These guys will just have to walk a little bit farther," he said."
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
Mayor Cary Glickstein said the ban would protect swimmers from encounters with large predators that wouldn't normally come close to shore. Unlike anglers who cast their lines by hand, the shark catchers use kayaks to set baited hooks much farther from shore, in the deeper water inhabited by large sharks.
"It's a public safety issue and also concern for the sharks," he said. "Most fishermen are fishing with small bait and as far out as they can cast. When you're taking half an amberjack and paddling out 200 yards, you're not looking for yellowtail snapper. There's also concern for the sharks themselves. A lot of species are endangered. There's been a lot of press lately about very large sharks being caught from shore."
So from the 'logic' of Mr. Goldstein, the ban would protect swimmers venturing out 200 yards off shore from large predators who do not normally come close to shore?
Also, if he is so insistent that a lot of species are endangered, perhaps Mr. Goldstein would like to accompany me on a trip and run my lines out for me while I show him what the sport is really about and not what he wants the public to think it's about.
Mayor Cary Glickstein said the ban would protect swimmers from encounters with large predators that wouldn't normally come close to shore. Unlike anglers who cast their lines by hand, the shark catchers use kayaks to set baited hooks much farther from shore, in the deeper water inhabited by large sharks.
"We have a problem with hammerheads because they are so sensitive," said Sonja Fordham, president of Shark Advocates International. "If they get stressed too much, they're likely to die."
I wonder where self-proclaimed experts like Ms/Mrs?? Fordham get this info from? Was it derived from their self-interest serving pseudo-scientific theories, or did she hear it on a shark forum from someone who actually has experience handling them? Why don't people like this have to get real jobs instead of posing as experts about things they have no idea about for some agenda driven BS 'advocate' group?