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by Scott Newlin, Shark Biologist
Shark! Just the word can either bring feelings of fear, if you happen to be in the water when you hear it, or feelings of adrenaline when one is at the end of your line. Sharks are one of the largest fish that most anglers may encounter while fishing in Delaware, whether from a boat in the Delaware Bay or the Atlantic Ocean, surf fishing from the beach or fishing from a local pier.
There are over 400 species of sharks. Sharks can be found in most parts of the world and in a wide range of habitats; from mako sharks in the pelagic oceanic waters off the coast, to bull sharks that can be found in freshwater rivers far from a tidal source. Bull sharks have been suspected as the primary culprit in an infamous string of shark attacks that occurred in New Jersey in 1916, 30 miles inland from the saltwater. There are 14 species of shark that are regularly found in Delaware waters, with the most common large shark species being the sand tiger, sandbar, thresher and mako shark. The smooth dogfish and the spiny dogfish, both small sharks, are the most common species of shark caught by anglers in Delaware depending on the season. Smooth dogfish are typically caught during the summer months while spiny dogfish are caught in the fall and winter months.
Sharks are managed by the National Marine Fisheries Commission (NMFS), which is a part of the federal government, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which is a coalition of the Atlantic States. NMFS manages the species of shark that live in federal waters, or greater than 3 miles from shore, and deal with mostly pelagic species. ASMFC manages most of the coastal species of shark found within 3 miles of shore. Some shark species support important commercial fisheries while others are mostly targeted by recreational fisheries. Spiny dogfish, for example, are not a major part of the recreational harvest, but make up a large component of the commercial catch and end up on many dinner tables throughout the United States and Europe as fish and chips. Most species of shark are managed through a quota system with harvest monitored either through mandatory commercial logbooks or the Marine Recreation Information Program (MRIP).
ASMFC manages coastal sharks as five distinct groups. The first group is the Non-Sandbar Large Coastal Species. The species within this group that are most commonly seen in Delaware include the hammerheads, silky shark and the spinner shark. The second group is the Small Coastal Sharks, which include the bonnethead, Atlantic sharpnose, the finetooth and the blacknose shark. The third group, the Pelagic Sharks, includes the shortfin mako and the thresher shark. Sandbar Sharks are managed as a separate group and may be harvested only with a scientific collection permit. The last group is the Prohibited species, which for Delaware includes the sand tiger, great white and dusky sharks. Smooth dogfish are not included in any of the groups and have no possession or size limits. Spiny Dogfish are managed jointly by the ASMFC and the NMFS, and have no size or bag limits in Delaware. In Delaware, the regulations concerning sharks are selective to each group.
Sharks in the Prohibited group are characterized by being long lived and slow to reproduce. The most common species that an angler in Delaware might catch is the sand tiger shark. Species in the Prohibited group are prohibited from being either caught or targeted and are not considered part of a catch and release fishery. If a prohibited species of shark is hooked, Delaware regulation requires that the fish may not be removed from the water and
it must be released with the maximum probability of survival. This means that picture taking and posing should be kept to a minimum and could result in a citation for an angler if the picture taking delays the release of the shark. Sandbar shark are not part of the Prohibited group but are protected by the same regulations as the Prohibited species. Circle hooks are recommended when shark fishing, but certain species, like the sand tiger, eats its food whole and this feeding behavior makes the shark very susceptible to deep hooking, even when circle hooks are used.
All Non-Sandbar Large Coastal and Pelagic sharks must have a fork length measurement of at least 54 inches. There is no minimum size for Small Coastal Sharks (Atlantic sharpnose, blacknose, finetooth and bonnethead) and the smooth and spiny dogfish sharks. It is unlawful for operators of any vessel to have on board more than one non-prohibited shark per trip regardless of the number of people on board the vessel. In addition, each angler fishing from the vessel may possess one bonnethead and one sharpnose per trip. For shore anglers, only one non-prohibited species of shark may be possessed per day and shore anglers may harvest one additional bonnethead and one additional sharpnose per day.
It is unlawful for any angler to possess silky, tiger, blacktip, spinner, bull, lemon, nurse or hammerhead sharks from May 15 through July 15. Anglers who catch any of these species in Federal waters may not transport them through Delaware state waters during the closed season.
Regulations concerning pelagic species of sharks and other sharks caught in federal waters can be found at the NMFS website, but Delaware regulations must be followed if the shark is landed in Delaware. It is illegal to land or possess any species of shark in state waters that is illegal to catch or possess in federal waters.
Care should be taken by anglers to ensure proper identification of shark species. Some species of shark that are available for harvest are easily confused with Prohibited species of shark.
Sharks can be an exciting species to catch, but as you just read, there are a lot of regulations pertaining to sharks, so it is important for all anglers to be aware of these regulations before they hit the water.
