Staying Legal
Apply for a marine fishing license. Just as you would for any kind of fishing, if you hope to go out fishing for sharks, you need to register with the Department of Wildlife or the Hunting and Fishing Service in your area to make it legal. In most places, there is no "shark season," but other fishing guidelines and restrictions may apply in your area. To catch sharks in the United States, you need to apply for a National Marine Fisheries Service license with the Department of Hunting and Wildlife.
Find out the local regulations regarding harvesting sharks in your area. The regulations for hunting sharks vary widely depending on the region you’re in. In some areas, including the Bay off California, there is no “shark season,” while in Massachusetts, minimum weight requirements and seasons for blues, makos, and threshers are strictly enforced. It's critical that you get informed about the local regulations by getting information from the Department of Marine Wildlife in your area to make sure any fishing expedition you've got planned is legal. In the US, blue sharks are the most frequently caught variety of shark, typically taken on deep-sea fishing expeditions off chartered boats. If you want to go shark fishing, this is typically the best way to do it. You'll be sure you're fishing for the right sharks and can quickly identify the legal species, with pros there to help you. Look for shark fishing tournaments in your area. In some regions, marine biologists and fishermen have teamed up to experience the thrill of the hunt and the knowledge that can come from interacting with sharks up close and then releasing them safely back into the wild. These types of fishing tournaments are a healthy and legal coming-together of science and sport.
Only fish for the right kind of sharks. Depending on where you’re fishing, certain shark species may be more present than others, while certain species are universally outlawed for harvesting. It is universally illegal to kill any of the following species of shark: Tiger shark Whale sharks Great whites Atlantic angel Basking Bigeye sand tiger, six- or seven gills, and threshers Bignose Caribbean reef Dusky Galapagos Great, scalloped, or smooth hammerheads Lemon shark Longfin mako Narrow tooth Night Sandbar Sand tiger Silky Small tail
Avoid fishing in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). In the United States, attempts are being made to coordinate areas identified locally as being target areas for conservation and research, to bring these areas under government oversight. Because maritime law is somewhat more complex than the law of the land, it's been a challenge to make shark-hunting or fishing laws applicable across a wide variety of locations and waters. The introduction of MPAs seeks to simplify that. You can keep up to date with fishing restricted national waters by clicking here.
Never “fin” sharks. The most valuable part of the shark is usually the fins, which are used in many different cultural cuisines as the basis for a soup stock. Because of this, the practice of "finning" sharks–cutting off their fins and tossing the carcasses, often still alive, back into the water–is almost universally illegal, not to mention morally bankrupt. While the practice is done mostly on species that are already restricted, finning sharks is illegal, regardless of the species, and trading in shark fins is increasingly restricted and illegal all over the world. Even if you hope to use the fins for soup, you need to take the whole shark and dress it using a humane method.
Make sure you can identify the shark species you're likely to encounter. If you can't tell a tiger from a blue, you need to get your fishing line out of the water. Invest in a good shark field guide and mark the variety of legal sharks, so you can quickly reference them while you're out fishing and make sure any sharks that you see are legal, or quickly identify any sharks that you've brought on board. Since sharks are usually underwater, obviously, giving a positive ID can be difficult. Mostly, identifying sharks is about examining the notches and coloring of the fins and looking at the distance between the dorsal fin and the tail, to get a sense of how long it is. Knowing the geography, the length of the shark, and seeing the dorsal is enough for experts to identify the shark correctly.
Fishing for Sharks
Get the right sea-fishing gear. Sharks need to be caught using heavy-duty deep sea poles and line with a high tensile strength. Try to keep it as light as possible, and try to use lightweight rod and reel combos specifically designed for braided monofilament. If you charter a fishing boat to go shark fishing, gear should be provided for you. Fishing harnesses to lock yourself in and secure you to the boat are also common in shark fishing. Worn like seat belts, these will lock you in place for the long-haul. Use circle hooks instead of J-hooks. To make catch and release easier, use circle hooks, which tend to get caught nicely in the shark's jaw, making them easy to remove and relatively painless. J-hooks can get lodged in the shark's stomach, making releasing the shark extremely difficult.
Use the right bait. Sharks are predators, meaning that you've got to throw something tasty and bloody in the water to get them going. The most common bait used in fishing for sharks is usually jackfish, mackerel, mullet, whiting, sandtrout, or ladyfish, though different regions often will have specific bait fish local to the area that the sharks are used to hunting. Go out with experienced deep sea fishermen to get a sense of the best bait for the job. Try to rig your bait live, through the lips. Sharks are attracted to the smell of blood and also to signs of struggle, making live bait ideal for attracting sharks.
Find a good spot. Sharks are commonly hunted from chartered fishing boats, off piers, and even off shore, depending on where you’re fishing. Talk to local anglers to find out where the best places to catch sharks are and post up with your gear. Look for ledges and rip lines. Shipwrecks, deep underwater drop-offs, and other unusual underwater textures are great habitats for hunting sharks. If you want to attract sharks, look for places with dynamic underwater landscapes. Rip lines or little disturbances in the water can suggest underwater feeding frenzies, the presence of schools of baitfish, and generally just good underwater action. That means it's a good place to lay some chum.
Lay out a chum slick. Most commercial fishermen will bring as much as 5 gallons (18.9 L) of bluefish or bunker to make "chum," which is a crude slurry of stinky chopped up baitfish that sharks love. Typically placed in bags and hung off the bow and the stern of the boat, this chum attracts schools of sharks reliably and quickly. And they'll be hungry.
Wait for a bite and get ready for the fight. Since you're boat fishing, most commercial boats will set up the rods and wait for signs of a bite. If you're out on a chartered boat, put your line in the water, crack open a cold one, and enjoy the sunshine until you see the line being taken out. You should notice and hear the line start to be taken out rapidly. Once you get a bite, clear all the other lines out of the water and cut the engines to get ready for the fight. After the shark takes the line, wait about five or ten seconds before setting the line, pulling sharply on it with two quick pumps and reeling it until taut. This should set the hook in the thickest part of the shark's jaw, where it will be secure. Continue reeling in part way and letting it fight the line back out. Keep the engines on and stay ready for the endgame. Bringing the shark into the shallows to "ground it" can be an effective way of tiring out the shark and giving it less opportunity to dive. Depending on where you are, this can be an effective technique. If you've been wrestling with a shark for 20 or 30 minutes and intend to release it eventually, some fishermen prefer cutting the shark loose, as opposed to continuing to fight it and wear it out. Over-tiring the shark can endanger its health and its ability to recover from the fight. Consider cutting him loose.
Practice catch and release. Remove the tackle in the water to decrease the stress on the shark as much as possible, holding the shark firmly by the dorsal fin and the mid-torso, and pulling the hook loose with pliers. Then let the shark go. If you don't want to release, larger sharks need to be gaffed, and the whole group needs to coordinate to make the process as safe as possible. In this process, the shark needs to be brought up alongside the boat and allowed to calm down some. The first thing to bring out of the water is the tail, which is the part that can shoot the shark off in a new direction, and typically this is done using a winch and tail rope. Typically, the shark will be left to hang like that for as much as an hour, to avoid lots of threshing and moving around inside the boat, which can be extremely dangerous. There’s little reason to hunt sharks for keeps. There's little to no meat and the thrill can be gotten more from looking at them up close. Hunt something regulated and with a more secure population, like swordfish, marlin, or other deep-sea fish if you want to keep animals. Most arguments that the culling of populations in Australia can help to keep swimmers safe have been debunked. Shark attacks, on an uptick in some areas, can be attributed to changing patterns in fish migrations moving closer to populated shores, which is in turn attributable to global climate change, not rising populations of hostile sharks.
Kill the shark humanely, if you must. The quickest way to kill a shark is to use a sharp knife, at least 6 inches (15.2 cm) long, to stab the shark’s brain. To do this, stab through the back of the head, 2-3 in. behind the eyes, slicing forward. This is extremely difficult, since the shark’s brain is very small. Stabbing the shark in the gills will kill the shark eventually, but although this is a mortal wound, it’s an inhumane method of killing the shark. There's little reason to kill sharks, because the dwindling populations are already in constant threat from human intrusion. If you want to kill sharks, the best way to do it is to continue polluting the oceans. If you want to fish, practice catch and release.
Protecting Yourself From Shark Attacks
Pay attention to beach closings and warnings. Before you make a trip all the way to Cape Cod or Australia, make sure the beaches you hope to visit are open and shark-free. Typically, areas that experience a rise in shark sightings or attacks will close beaches nearby. If beaches are closed, avoid them. Check in with the board of tourism in the state with the beaches you hope to visit to find out about shark incidents and beach closings.
Stay out of the water during hunting times. Sharks are crepuscular hunters, which means that they get hungry at dawn and at dusk. If you're in the water just as the sun comes up, or right as it goes down, that's shark time. It's best to avoid waters that you suspect might be busy with hungry sharks early in the morning and just before dark.
If you see a shark, lock your eyes on it. When you're out swimming, keep yourself focused on the shark at all times, whether you're just paddling around or underwater scuba diving. Stay calm and focused, and avoid making sudden jerks or movements, which will attract the shark in to your struggle. If you're between the shark and open water, clear a space by moving out of the way. Most sharks don't want anything to do with you. Your best option, when you spot a shark, is to slowly start making your way toward the boat or the shore, whichever is closer. Make long, smooth strokes and keep your eyes on the shark. If you can, look for some cover. Backing up against a rock ledge, coral reef, or some other outcropping with take away certain angles of attack. Keep yourself in a defensive position.
Find a weapon. A good quality stainless steel knife comes in handy if you're facing the prospect of a shark attack, but most of us don't carry around Bowie knives on our wetsuits. If not, you'll have to improvise. You can attempt to gouge out the shark's eyes, or punch it in the nose repeatedly. Something heavy can also help you stun the shark, if you use it in the right spots. Good improvised weapons might include: A shoe A rock Cameras Goggles or masks Other scuba gear
Hit the shark in its soft spots. Though they make look scary, sharks have just as many vulnerabilities as any human. A properly timed and placed hit with the right pressure on one of those spots will send the shark away quickly, without having to kill it. Make short, quick jabs at the eyes and the gills of the shark to cause the most damage and make yourself seem less desirable as a snack. The underside of the shark's jaw can also be a sensitive spot, and some trainers can even manipulate the shark to zonk it out by tickling the shark's "chin." The very tip of the shark's nose is another sensitive spot. Throw a couple of hard, sharp jabs straight at it and don't stop hitting until it leaves you alone.
Get out of the water and seek medical attention. Go to the water's surface and look around for a boat or shore. If you see a boat, call to it calmly. If you see shore, slowly swim there. The shark might come back, so swim quickly, but not too quickly as to alarm the shark. If you've been injured, seek medical attention immediately.
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