Are There Too Many Sharks Now?
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Daily reports and postings of angler-caught fish bitten into or taken whole by Atlantic sharks, known as depredation, painfully and clearly demonstrates the result of one-sided management, which has produced excessive numbers of sharks off the East, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts.
The angler-hooked species taken by sharks range from sheepshead to marlin and occur with fish hooked from shore, piers, small boats, and large boats according to officials with The Billfish Foundation.
It seems to anglers there is no balance in Atlantic shark management, all titled in favor of shark conservation. Any additional shark abundance will worsen the negative impacts
to recreational fishing, the abundance of recreational-hooked species being killed by sharks, and the related businesses. The conservation of one species or a complex of species should not be allowed to cause declines in other species important to other interests.
What are your thoughts on shark management? Could Gulf waters stand more harvest of more common species like blacktip and spinners? Have you had large fish like tarpon or marlin taken by sharks?
Comment below.
11 Comments
My wife and I were surf fishing at South Padre Island at the beginning of November. We caught 16 black tips and spinners in 2-1/2 days. All were 30-35 inches. We also retrieved lady fish that had been bitten off leaving only the head on the hook. No other species were biting those days. Every mullet we cast into the surf yielded a shark or lost tackle. Everyone we saw fishing on the beach was catching sharks. This is the second year in a row this has happened to us. It seems time to increase the legal limit to two sharks per license per day.
Sharks are on the same type of over protection as Alligators. Everything has its place but history has shown management is key for healthy populations of all species.
I have been saying for several years shark populations are to a maximum level & are now causing declines in other game fish populations. Our bay systems are overpopulated with sharks. Bull sharks wreak havoc on trout & redfish. Many wade fishermen have had their stringers stripped & taken away by sharks, some being very large Bull sharks. Many of these usual suspects seen are unafraid of people & boats.
I typically catch Bonnet Heads inshore in the Matagorda Bay System. However, an October offshore trip allowed me to experience a shark feeding frenzy of all types while attempting to boat Blackfin Tuna. Our team of 12 anglers hauled in many tuna chunks and broke off every rigged line on the boat, approximately 20 before moving on. I had never before experienced sharks like that. It made me think about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in the Pacific during WWII.
This is the dumbest article I have ever read on this publication, and the author should be ashamed for even asking this ridiculous question. Shark populations throughout the world are at historic lows, as most pelagic species, due to overfishing. So a couple reports of sharks taking a fisherman’s catch off the line come in, and the conclusion is that “sharks are too abundant” is the assessment? It’s that type of ridiculous logic that has put our oceans in the state that they’re in now.
Finally, someone is talking common sense here. I agree this is the most uninformed article I have seen from this publication and it is embarrassing that it was even published. The only reason to have ever published something so stupid would be if it was April 1st and a total joke. Millions of sharks are being illegally killed for their fins each year and it will be eons before a balance could ever come back. Shame on you Texas Fish and Game for publishing such nonsense.
If you truly think that sharks are at an all-time low, maybe you need to go fishing. Try the Chandeleur Islands for starters, in July or anytime. Go up in a plane or a helicopter and fly up and down Texas beaches. Trust me, there’s more than enough of those sorry bastards to go around for everyone. Have you ever seen bul lsharks or black tips schooled up in the Texas bay system, eating everything in their path, I have. I totally agree with the article and kudos for them writing it.
I live on the Gulf Of Mexico in Texas. I have been fishing these waters all my life. There is no shortage of sharks by any means. The bag limit needs to be raised to AT LEAST two sharks per day. If the rest of the world needs sharks, then they can be caught by the hundreds in the Gulf Of Mexico and moved to where ever needs them. On any given day you can wade (or swim) to the third sandbar and catch several different species of sharks, ranging in sizes from 12 inches to several feet in length. Yes, sharks are “too abundant” in the Gulf.
All I will say is with regards to the overzealous comments of the two people who apparently did not read the article before pronouncing it stupid which is usual nowadays. They are apparently the same ones which think Red Snapper are endangered. The writer specified a specific area with a specific issue. Not the entire world and not every shark. It is possible to have a general underabundance of a resource in a general area while having an overabundance in a specific area. Those commenta made are just ignorant and reactionary. I have had to fight sharks just about evertime I fish. It would not be a bad idea to evaluate the overall health of individual shark populations relative to the area they inhabit to see if there is an imbalance. The only ignorance here is someone too ignorant to allow for a simple question to be asked and to actually ponder a useful response. Unfortunately we do not have a shortage of short-sighted people with limited critical thought capacity.
I have been catching more and more sharks off the second sandbar in the last ten years than ever before. I dont know what the worldwide pop of sharcks is, but on the galveston coast, they are a nuisance. good table fare but one per person is ridiculous.
I have had far too many fish bitten into right behind the head. The limit needs to be raised.