Are you tired of losing fish after fish to the tax man? If not, you haven’t been on the water in the last year. The local shark problem is out of control! On some of my nighttime snapper charters, we are losing nearly half of our catch to lemon and bull sharks. You have to reel like some sort of saltwater superhero that feels like his yellowtail is going to save the planet.
These sharks have become more aggressive in their pursuit of a free meal. Oftentimes they will hit the transom right before our catch comes flying out of the water and into the boat.
While I agree everyone needs to eat, I feel it’s just a matter of time before someone gets hurt or worse. It’s easy to see that the sharks have learned to associate boats with food. Just ask any local tournament fisherman about the tax man. I don’t want to see sharks killed for the sake of killing them, but perhaps we can come up with some better ways to manage them.
Recently, several charter captains partnered up with some local recreational anglers to create a Facebook group called Sportsmen Fighting for Marine Balance in order to chronicle the shark problem. Through this page, letters are being sent to local, state and federal agencies asking for assistance and answers. We are asking for more letters to be sent in so that we can present the existence of real concern about our fisheries. Your letters can be brief or as detailed as you like. Please include where you fish and what changes you would like to see to current shark regulations. Please email your letters to Patrick Price at pat@daymakerfishing.com or to me at fishrypalmer@yahoo.com and we’ll handle the rest.
Capt. Ryan Palmer
Family Jewell Fishing Charters
954-882-2631
www.fjsportfishing.com