Shark fishing off pier may take $500 bite out of wallet
Lee looks to enforce Fort Myers Beach safety
By Jamie Page
jpage@news-press.com
Originally posted on November 15, 2006
Fishing for sharks long has been against the rules at the Fort Myers Beach pier, but Lee County wants to put some teeth in the restriction to enforce it.
County commissioners Tuesday set a Dec. 12 public hearing to consider proposed changes to a county parks ordinance that would ban shark fishing on Lynn Hall Park Pier. Violators could face fines of up to $500.
Baiting or chumming near the swimming and bathing area would be banned.
Chumming means using chopped-up bait to draw fish commonly sharks.
Signs near the pier for years have proclaimed in all capital letters: SHARK FISHING NOT ALLOWED.
But that doesnt stop the practice, and nothing in county ordinances prevents it.
The push to beef up the ordinance is motivated by incidents such as one in June 2005 when hook inventor Mel Larsen caught a 9-foot lemon shark off the pier, Lee Parks and Recreation Director John Yarbrough said.
Larsen couldnt be reached for comment.
Wildlife officials at the time said Larsens catch didn't violate state law, which provides for a one-shark limit, but he did get a warning from a sheriffs deputy who told Larsen he would be cited if caught chumming or intentionally trying to catch a shark.
Youve got sunbathers and swimmers right there by the pier; thats a train wreck waiting to happen, said Commissioner Ray Judah, who pushed for the new provisions. With people using big bait to attract sharks, we needed to put in stricter provisions to protect the safety of swimmers.
A state wildlife attorney believes county officials could be venturing onto state turf.
Charles Shelfer, deputy counsel for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, referred to a statute that says the power to regulate saltwater fishing lies with the state.
The county has the power to ban all fishing from the pier, but not to limit or regulate the sport, Shelfer said.
If we were to spend all our time trying to run down local ordinances that crossed over into our domain, Shelfer said, we wouldnt have time for anything else.
Assistant county attorney Melody Bowers said the key to Lees authority to impose the ordinance is in a sentence in the law that states, This section does not prohibit a local government from prohibiting, for reasons of protecting the public health, safety, or welfare, saltwater fishing from real property owned by that local government.
Our opinion is that this particular statute specifically gives Lee County the authority to prohibit saltwater fishing from Lynn Hall Park pier, which is owned by Lee County, Bowers said.
Some doubt a shark-fishing ban will change life at the pier.
People toting large rods begin showing up at about sunset on the pier, said Bonnie Ross, who works at the pier's bait shop, Pelican's Pit Stop.
They mostly fish at night for them, Ross said. They're not supposed to.
And they usually come home with a shark, she said. I think they catch a shark out there every day, Ross said.
Staff writer Pedro Morales contributed to this report.
