Indian Shores reels in shark-fishing ban

INDIAN SHORES — "What are you fishing for?"

"Sharks."

Since 2023, that answer could get you in trouble in this tranquil town of 1,243 on Florida's Gulf coast.

Soon, though, you may be able to cast away without consequence.

Finding itself in a bit of a legal catch, the Indian Shores Town Council is moving to repeal its precedent-setting ordinance banning shark fishing from shore after its attorney concluded that it, well, doesn't hold water.

And Indian Shores may not be the only beach community that needs to reel in its rules.

Several other Pinellas County barrier island municipalities with similar ordinances could be in the same boat as Indian Shores, which adopted the ban after a dead 10-foot pregnant tiger shark washed ashore three years ago.

Now it turns out that Indian Shores — and the municipal mimics that followed — may have been in choppy legal waters from the start.

The problem is one of turf: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — not local governments — regulates saltwater fishing, whether anglers are after sharks or something less toothy.

The issue surfaced in May when Chris Dilecce of Melbourne, a land-based shark-fishing charter guide, wrote town officials urging them to reconsider the ordinance, raising “serious concerns regarding state preemption and jurisdiction.” He also provided correspondence in which FWC officials had cited similar concerns about proposed fishing restrictions elsewhere in Florida.

In one letter, FWC General Counsel Christopher Torres wrote that local governments may prohibit saltwater fishing from property they own for health, safety or welfare reasons. But a local ordinance that otherwise conflicts with FWC's authority over saltwater fishing “may be considered invalid and unenforceable,” he wrote.

FWC last week did not respond to two requests for comment about shark-fishing ordinances in Pinellas or whether the agency considers them preempted by state law.

At a June 9 Indian Shores Town Council workshop, Town Attorney Noah Daiker explained how the law applied to the town.

“The town's ordinance does implicate this preemption,” Daiker said, because it “applies broader than just on property owned by the town.”

The Town Council has now begun the process of repealing the ban “to avoid legal confusion and potential litigation costs,” according to an ordinance approved on first reading July 14.

Not the first

Indian Shores, about 30 minutes southwest of Clearwater, isn't the first Pinellas beach community to confront the preemption issue.

In 2020, neighboring Indian Rocks Beach repealed a shark-fishing prohibition that had been on its books for at least four decades.

The city took that action because of the same state law Indian Shores is dealing with now. Put simply, Florida has been in charge of regulating saltwater fishing since 1973, aside from that limited exception for local government-owned property.

The Indian Rocks Beach ordinance even cites a 1945 Florida Supreme Court decision that found fishing regulation belonged to the state, not localities.

The city said it wanted to remove provisions from its code that had been preempted or were otherwise unenforceable under state law.

The state's shark rules

Shore-based shark fishing is pretty much what it sounds like: fishing for sharks from the beach or while wading in shallow water.

Shark fishing requires heavy-duty rods, high-capacity reels, strong leaders and specialized hooks capable of handling powerful fish and long fights from shore. Protected species must be let go.

Land-based shark anglers age 16 and older must complete an online educational course and obtain a free annual permit, including people 65 and older who otherwise are exempt from fishing-license requirements.

When natural bait is used, shark anglers must use non-offset, non-stainless-steel circle hooks. They also must carry a device capable of quickly cutting a hook or leader.

And chumming — think Roy Scheider in Jaws, cigarette dangling from his lips as he shovels fish guts and blood into the ocean — is prohibited when fishing from a beach or while wade fishing next to one.

As many as 29 shark species — including tiger, lemon and several species of hammerhead sharks — cannot be harvested.

Protected sharks caught from shore must remain in the water with their gills submerged. FWC warns anglers not to delay their release just to take pictures or video — the kind of footage shark fishermen often share on social media and YouTube. It advises them to avoid crowded beaches, high-traffic times and areas near swimmers.

What sparked the ban

At the June 9 workshop, Indian Shores Police Chief Lee Ann Holroyd said the ban grew out of residents' complaints about anglers using blood to attract sharks, along with concerns raised by the pregnant tiger shark's death.

She also described late-night shark fishing near residential properties, sometimes accompanied by “hooting and hollering” when anglers made a catch.

Holroyd acknowledged the ban can be difficult to enforce. Violations can result in fines of up to $500, but she told council members the ordinance has largely been handled through education and voluntary compliance, with no recent citations.

“It's really not about whether we want to allow it or not, it's about who has the proper power to enforce it,” she said. “And it's not the town, it's the state.”

Two shark anglers who attended the workshop agreed, urging council members to leave shark-fishing regulations to the FWC.

“This ordinance is regulatory overreach, plain and simple,” said Brandon Ryer of Riverview, adding that responsible shark fishing poses no greater danger to beachgoers.

Jamison Baker, of Largo, told council members he has fished for sharks for 15 years and follows state rules, including staying away from active swimming areas.

“I grew up fishing in this area since I was 7 years old and now I want to share that experience with my 6-year-old daughter,” said Baker, who owns JayMoShark’s Hull Cleaning Service.

Baker said he also takes part in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Cooperative Shark Tagging Program, beach cleanups and sea turtle conservation efforts.

He blamed the death of the pregnant tiger shark on “unsafe catch-and-release procedures.”

The municipal mimics

The same legal issue now facing Indian Shores could surface in four other Pinellas municipalities that have similar restrictions: Redington Shores, Redington Beach, Treasure Island and Belleair Shore.

The first to follow Indian Shores' lead was Redington Shores, which adopted its ordinance later in 2023. It cited the pregnant tiger shark and noted that both towns had looked to Delray Beach as a model.

Redington Shores outlaws shark fishing throughout the town's jurisdictional waters — regardless of whether an angler holds the required state permit — and restricts gear such as long metal leaders, fighting belts and bait deployment by drones.

Redington Beach joined the list in December 2025, also citing the Indian Shores shark.

Before the ordinance was drafted, Town Attorney Rob Eschenfelder “confirmed that the Town has the authority to ban this activity from its beaches,” meeting records show. Commissioners then directed him to prepare a measure.

But the ordinance does not limit the prohibition to town-owned property. It applies throughout Redington Beach's jurisdictional waters — potentially posing the same preemption question raised in Indian Shores.

Eschenfelder did not respond to emailed questions from The Pinellas Current, including whether he still believes Redington Beach has the authority to enforce its shark-fishing ordinance.

Belleair Shore adopted its ban in February, citing ordinances in Indian Shores, Redington Shores, Treasure Island and Delray Beach as models. The ban extends throughout the town's jurisdictional waters and on town-owned property.

Town Attorney Daniel Lewis reviewed and approved the ordinance's legal form before it was adopted. Lewis also served as Indian Shores' town attorney until May, when he chose not to seek another contract there.

Belleair Shore's measure came after Commissioner Daniel Storie told colleagues last year that he had seen fishermen chumming from the beach and worried about the safety of swimmers, including his children.

A copy posted on the town's website lists the ordinance as in effect but not yet codified. The measure contains a drafting error, apparently lifted from the Indian Shores model. It says the new regulations are to be incorporated into the Code of Ordinances of the “Town of Indian Shores, Florida.”

Similar legal questions have come up in Treasure Island, which adopted its shark-fishing ban last year.

In May, shark-fishing guide Dilecce wrote commissioners urging them to reconsider the ordinance.

Commissioner Arden Dickey responded by email that Treasure Island's ordinance applies only to “shark fishing on City beaches,” rather than “all fishing activities.” Still, he said he would ask the city attorney to send the ordinance to FWC for clarification.

Dickey did not respond to a request from The Pinellas Current for an update.

Still circling

While the preemption concerns were mounting, one more Pinellas beach city was looking to make its shores off-limits to shark anglers.

St. Pete Beach Commissioner Jon Maldonado said in June that he wanted his city to follow neighboring communities that banned shark fishing. He raised concerns about nighttime lights disturbing nesting sea turtles and anglers fishing near swimmers.

By that point, Indian Shores was already reversing course on the very approach others were still looking to emulate.

The second and final reading of the repeal is set for Aug. 19.

If approved as expected, shark anglers will once again be off the hook — and free to cast from Indian Shores' beaches.

After all, to quote Richard Dreyfuss in Jaws, “If we're looking for a shark, we're not gonna find him on the land.”