Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
It used to be that regulations for bluefin tuna and flounder were always in such a constant state of turmoil that each spring anglers were constantly on the edge of their seats waiting to find out what the new catch and creel limits were going to be that season. Proposals would be made, public meetings scheduled, letters written and through it all it was not uncommon for fishermen to get more than a little hot under the collar about the way it would all work out in the end.
These days it seems as though things have leveled off enough for those species that there's not as much sticker-shock going on each spring when the new tuna or flounder regulations are announced. But it's not quite that way for sharks, which have become the new "problem child" for marine managers trying to strike a balance between effective fishery management and happy fishermen.
It wasn't too long ago that shark fishing regulations were so simple that few anglers had to ask or even worry so much about what they legally could or couldn't keep if they wanted to bring one home for dinner. For the most part, it was simply one shark a day at 54-inches and a few species that were prohibited. But considering that off Delmarva alone we have about 14-species of relatively common sharks, all of which have their own unique biology, habits, travel patterns, life history and fishing pressure, it's become obvious that one set of rules to cover all sharks just doesn't cut it anymore. Such diversity among the different types of sharks is why these days marine managers are employing more "species specific" management practices when dealing with sharks.
This species specific approach is why we now have separate and unique size limits for mako sharks and hammerheads, a compre-hensive list of prohibitive species, a fishing season that doesn't open for many species until July 15, the required use of circle hooks and the requirement to have a shark endorsement on one's annual HMS permit. If you want to fish for sharks these days you'd better have your ducks in a row!
Because the populations of some of the shark species commonly caught and released by local anglers are determined to be so critically low, fisheries has determined that an increased level of conservation is needed to protect them from the post-release mortality that occurs as a result of the catch and release fishery. Therefore, the intent of the some of these regulations is to help provide sharks the "best" chance of surviving encounters with recreational anglers.
In efforts to help provide additional conservation to local sharks and bring state regulations more in line with those that apply to anglers fishing in federal waters (more than 3-miles out), Maryland's Department of Natural Resources is considering some changes to state recreational shark fishing regulations. One of these changes will be that (just as it is in Federal waters) anglers who are fishing for sharks in state waters will be required to use non-offset, non-stainless steel circle hooks. With studies showing that the use of circle hooks greatly decreases the chances of a shark being hooked anywhere but in the jaw, that one regulation alone will go a long way to ensure that a lot less sharks will die from internal injuries caused from being hooked in the gut.
Maryland DNR is also planning to put on the books a regulation that prohibits anglers from removing sharks from the water that are going to be released. This same regulation is already in effect in Federal waters, so just like the requirement for the use of circle hooks, in this case all they are doing is extending the requirement to cover state waters as well. This regulation applies to all sharks that are being released, not just those that are on the prohibited species list or are undersize. So, in other words, even if you "could" keep it if you wanted to, but choose not to, the shark must be released in the water by either cutting the leader or using a de-hooking tool to pop out the hook.
From a boat it's pretty obvious what they mean by "not remove a shark from the water", but beach fishermen are sometimes confused by what exactly constitutes being in or out. I've heard some say that "in the water" means still floating and not in contact with the bottom, while others contend that being in a couple inches of water would have them in compliance and others claim that it's OK as long as the fish is still on wet sand. I expect DNR will clarify what constitutes being "in" or "out" of the water when they put this law on the books.
Don't sit your fat butt on the shark! Yea - I know, that sounds kind of stupid, but navigate you're way through enough social media photos and you will find plenty of stupid people doing stupid things with sharks and that includes "sitting" on them for photos prior to release. If hauling them out of the water wasn't bad enough (and will soon be illegal) sitting on a shark that's out of the water increases the chances for internal injuries that could kill the animal. Apparently DNR takes such stunts serious enough that the ridiculous practice will be addressed in the new regulations.
So that's what's coming down the pike in the way of new Maryland state regulations. On the Federal side, one thing concerning sharks is going to happen this fall and winter that won't really be a "change" in regulations as much as an "official continuance" of what we fished under this season.
If you recall, this season we fished under a new 83-inch minimum size limit for mako sharks. An 83-inch mako is roughly a 200-pound fish, so the size limit has made it extremely difficult for anglers to land a keeper size mako - something not too many folks have been happy about. That size limit came into effect after an emergency ruling this winter by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Emergency rulings are temporary and this one will end in late August. But before any fishermen get their hopes up that the size limit is going to revert back to 54-inches, let me say that it's not. NMFS will file for an extension on the emergency rule, which will give them enough time to make the 83-inch size limit permanent. If passed, this new regulation will show up as an amendment to the current fishery management plan for sharks, so get used to the 83-inch limit - it's not going away anytime soon!
So even though between now and next season there will be a lot of new regulatory stuff going on concerning sharks, for the most part there's no real earth-shattering changes that are drastically different from the way anglers are able to fish right now - uh, unless you like to sit on sharks!
Capt. Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat, “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
