Social Media Shenanigans Lead to Shore-Based Shark Fishing Closure

After an incident last fall between surfers and shark fishermen (allegedly) chasing clout by attempting to land a great white shark from shore, Massachusetts has banned shore-based shark fishing along a large portion of the coast. The new regulations also prohibit chumming and the use of drones and other remote-controlled devices to deploy baits.

 According to reporting by The Provincetown Independent, on the morning of September 28, surfers at LeCount Hollow Beach in Wellfleet called police after three anglers were seen fishing for sharks near swimmers, reportedly using a drone to drop bait into the water. The surfers claimed the fishermen had been chumming the water, and that a great white shark appeared near them, forcing them to race to shore.

Wellfleet police responded but found no violations. The anglers—identified as Alexander James Whittet of Harwich, Sean Willis, and Brennus Parks (founder of Maryland-based JP Fishing LLC)—held valid fishing licenses and told officers they were targeting bass and stingrays.

Video from Whittet’s social media shows surfers in the water as a voice jokes about dropping a bluefish bait on them. Parks later acknowledged they were aware of the surfers nearby but denied targeting great white sharks, which are federally protected and illegal to fish for in U.S. waters.

“There is a large contingent of anglers on social media that are looking for that viral video of them shark fishing, particularly for white sharks,” Massachusetts DMF policy analyst Jared Silva told the Boston Herald.

What’s Changing?

The updated rules target the rising trend of shore-based shark fishing, particularly activities that may increase interactions with white sharks. Here’s a breakdown of the new regulations:

1. Defining Shore-Based Shark Fishing
   Shore-based shark fishing is now officially defined as fishing with rod and reel from the shoreline, while wading, or from any structure connected to the shore—like bridges, piers, docks, and jetties—using:

   • A metal or wire leader longer than 18 inches, and

   • A hook with a gape (distance between the hook point and shank) greater than 5/8 inch.

2. Geographic Restrictions
   Shark fishing from shore is now prohibited along Cape Cod Bay, starting from the northern tip of Plymouth Beach, wrapping around the Outer Cape, and including Chatham Harbor and all of Monomoy Island. The rationale is to reduce interactions with white sharks while limiting constraints on other historic shore-based shark fishing activities that take place in Plymouth Harbor, along the south side of Cape Cod, and on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

3. Chumming Ban
   Chumming (releasing bait or scent into the water to attract sharks) is no longer allowed while shore-based shark fishing from sunrise to sunset anywhere in the state.

4. Bait Deployment Devices
   The use of mechanized or remote-controlled devices to deploy bait is now prohibited in all rod and reel fisheries—not just for shark fishing. This move is meant to discourage the expansion of these tools into other fisheries, such as striped bass, where their use could increase fight times and harm post-release survival rates.

Yes, You Can Still Fish for Sandbar Sharks

The primary goal of these regulations is to limit shore-based targeting of white sharks, which is illegal, and reduce public safety risks that could result from shore-based shark fishing. While shore-based sharking is prohibited on Outer Cape and Cape Cod Bay shorelines, the geographic restrictions specifically exclude the south side of Cape Cod, Buzzards Bay, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, where a historic and popular fishery exists targeting sandbar (brown) sharks. Massachusetts allows anglers to target sandbar sharks, and research has found that sandbar sharks are very resilient and capable of surviving both capture and handling in the Massachusetts recreational shore-based fishery. Recreational fishers are reminded that when targeting sharks, the use of circle hooks as the terminal tackle is mandatory except if fishing with flies or artificial lures. Prohibited Species, which include sand tiger sharks, sandbar (“brown”) sharks, and dusky sharks must be released immediately without undue harm.

Source: https://onthewater.com/social-media-shenanigans-lead-to-shore-based-shark-fishing-closure

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