WGMD Fishing Report 3-14-18

I am pretty sure that no one fished on Tuesday.  If they did they certainly deserve anything they caught.

On Tuesday afternoon I received a call from Captain Douglas Messeck from the Natural Resources Police at the Division of Fish and Wildlife.  It seems I made a mistake in January when I wrote that anyone who targets sharks, even from the surf, must have a Highly Migratory Species Permit.  This is the same permit that is issued to boats who fish for marlin, tuna and sharks in Federal waters.  It was my understanding that the National Marine Fishery Service wanted better data on sharks and therefore were going to require anyone targeting sharks to acquire this permit and report all sharks caught.

According to Captain Messeck, shark fishermen who fish in state waters, from shore to three miles out, do not need the HMS permit.  This includes those who target sharks from the beach.

Just to add a bit of confusion, should you catch a tuna inside the Three-Mile Limit you would have to release the fish unless you had a HMS permit. 

This is Eric Burnley with your WGMD fishing report.