2 days ago
Isle of Palms considering restrictions on shore-based shark fishing
ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD) – A Lowcountry beach community is considering implementing new regulations on recreational fishing that would prevent anglers from intentionally trying to catch sharks.
The discussion comes after an Isle of Palms resident raised safety concerns about a commercial shark fishing business operating from the beach near their home.
'If you're attracting larger sharks from offshore, bringing them in where it's a threat possibly to swimmers and surfers, I think that's something we definitely ought to look at,' Councilman Rusty Streetman said during a Public Safety Committee meeting last month.
Current city law prohibits commercial activity on the beach, but nothing in the code specifically stops someone from recreationally fishing for sharks or other species in the surf, according to Isle of Palms Police Chief Kevin Cornett.
As shore-based shark fishing becomes increasingly popular along the coast, city councilmembers are now looking at ways to curb the potentially dangerous activity.
'Shark fishing has a long and checkered history off the South Carolina coast,' Councilman Blair Hahn wrote in a June 9 message to News 2. 'It has been made in Horry County and many coastal communities for decades. For multiple reasons, the IOP never addressed this practice…I believe the time has come to do so.'
The practice involves releasing chum into the water from a structure like a pier to attract sharks closer to the shore, sometimes with the help of drones or kayaks. Anglers then use heavy rods and other specialized gear to reel them in.
'We currently have multiple individuals that set up between 47th and 50th Avenue, paddle ten-pound-plus hunks of meat 200 yards offshore and set large steel J hooks,' Hahn said.
He explained that an underwater ridge about one mile offshore, called the 'bump,' has become a hotspot for sharks and other large fish such as tarpons that feed on shrimp, noting that tiger sharks, bull sharks, and even Great Whites have been tracked in the area.
'Bringing these predators to shore, especially after making them angry and hungry, is an exceptionally bad idea,' Hahn said. 'I have watched individuals drag shark through surf, past multiple individuals swimming in the ocean on multiple occasions. Shark bites are bad on many levels. Obviously, shark bites create life-threatening injuries. In addition, shark bites tax our EMS services and have a chilling effect on tourism.'
These techniques not only increase the likelihood of an unwanted interaction between sharks and swimmers, but the use of larger fishing gear also presents safety risks to those enjoying other activities on the water.
'The last thing we want is a kid to get stuck on a hook, and depending on what they're fishing for, could dictate how big that hook is,' Chief Cornett said during a June 3 committee meeting.
The proposed restrictions would be modeled after ordinances and guidelines already in place in other parts of the state, including Seabrook Island and Horry County, according to officials.
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While the specifics are being worked out, the ordinance would generally prohibit someone from intentionally fishing for sharks and require that they be immediately released if caught – an extension of a state law that already mandates catch-and-release for certain species.
Chumming with raw meat or fish parts, excluding poultry products, within a certain distance of the beach and using certain equipment like drones and trot lines would also be prohibited.
'You're not going to take feed, dead fish, and others and put it in the water,' said Councilman John Bogosian, who chairs the Public Safety Committee. 'That's specifically attracting sharks, and that activity shouldn't be legal.'
Still, Bogosian questioned how the rules would be enforced given that recreational fishermen do not usually know what they will catch when casting a line.
'If you put it in there that fishing for shark is illegal, to me it's unenforceable unless someone says, 'Yeah, I'm fishing for shark,'' he said.
Cornett acknowledged that enforcing a shark fishing ban would be challenging overall, but certain acts like chumming would be 'easy to verify.'
The issue is expected to go back before the committee in July for further discussion.
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