The Commonwealth of Massachusetts recently implemented a ban on shore-based shark angling along Cape Cod Bay beginning at the northern-most point of Plymouth Beach around the Outer Cape including Chatham Harbor and all of Monomoy Island. The new statutory restrictions also prohibits chumming when shore-based shark fishing throughout Massachusetts from sunrise to sunset.
The Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission (MFAC) voted 6-1-1 at a March 27 meeting in favor of the prohibition, further defining shore-based shark fishing as “fishing with rod and reel gear from the shoreline, wade fishing, or from any structure attached to the shore—including but not limited to bridges, jetties, piers, and docks—using a metal or wire leader measuring greater than 18 inches and a hook for which the maximum distance measured between the two points inside the curve created by the hook exceeds 5/8 inch when measured straight across from the point to the shank.”
According to the MFAC, the primary purpose of the new shark fishing from shore rules is to constrain the growth of shore-based shark fishing in Massachusetts that targets white sharks, thereby preventing significant public safety concerns.
While white sharks aren’t a regular catch in the Jersey Shore surf, surfcasters often encounter federally protected species like sandbar sharks (brown sharks) and sand tigers. Anglers are reminded that if they should hook one that these two species should be kept in the water when dehooking and releasing. Dragging a sandbar or sand tiger shark to shore for a photo could be interpreted as “retaining” which could prompt a citation.
At the September 5, 2024 meeting of the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council (NJMFC) conservation officers reported that they have been conducting night patrols in areas where shoreside shark fishing has gained tremendous popularity. During these patrols, the officers have issued multiple summonses for mishandling state and federally prohibited species of sharks. In a follow-up discussion during the NJMFC’s September meeting, Capt. Brian Scott with New Jersey’s Bureau of Law Enforcement stated that enforcement regularly receives phone calls from other agencies/municipalities stating concerns from the public who do not want to swim in waters where shark fishing is allowed.
Under advice from Jeffrey Brust, Chief of the Bureau of Marine Fisheries, council members voted to present the issue of surf shark fishing at the Jersey Shore, including whether or not the state of New Jersey could allow a targeted “catch and release” fishery for prohibited shark species, to the council’s Shark & Spiny Dogfish Committee.
During the May 8th meeting of NJMFC, council member Bob Rush said advisors have had exploratory discussion aimed at identifying opportunities and challenges related to regulation, education, enforcement and municipal engagement on surf sharking in the Garden State. “The concern about the trajectory of shore-based shark fishing is evident,” Rush said, adding “each year brings increased effort and current regulations are difficult to enforce.”
Rush noted that Bureau of Marine Fisheries will be pursuing development of outreach and education materials that may also be implemented at the local or state level with regard to surf fishing for sharks.
