MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Martin County is weighing changes to its local shark fishing ordinance after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission directed the county to align its rules with state regulations. It's a move that has drawn significant public concern.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission asked the county to bring its ordinance in line with state law, which preempts counties from regulating saltwater fishing.
WATCH WPTV'S COVERAGE BELOW:
"There is a state statute that has essentially preempted the powers from the county to regulate salt water fishing that includes shark fishing. Preemption meaning the state says, 'county you can't control this anymore,'" Assistant County Attorney Melissa Petrick said.
State law requires a saltwater fishing license and a special permit for shark fishing. It also allows shark fishing within 1,000 feet of a guarded beach at all hours.
Among those opposing the changes is Jessica Veatch, whose then-3-year-old daughter Violet was attacked by a bull shark on Bathtub Beach in Martin County 9 years ago.
"I hear a scream that goes Mommy," Veatch said. "I come up out of the water and all I can see is the blood filling the water and I lifted her up out of the water and saw what was left of her leg."
Veatch said she believes nearby fishing activity may have lead to the attack..
"We noticed some young men that were spearfishing on the reef," Veatch said. "That is what provoked the attack on my daughter."
Veatch said she was alarmed to learn the county may now be forced to eliminate its local shark fishing regulations.
"They're currently treating our shoreline like a Pavlov's dog experiment with an apex predator and I don't think that's going to work out in anybody's best interest," Veatch said.
Indian River Keeper Jim Moir raised concerns about the potential impact of the changes at the Tuesday commission meeting.
"These animals are incredibly important to our ecosystems. The angler offshore are complaining bitterly daily about how many of their caught fish are being depraved by sharks. Attracting more sharks to the coast is not only bad for human safety, but it's bad for angling, its bad for our public awareness, it's bad for the sharks," Moir said.
County attorneys suggested the ordinance does not need to be eliminated entirely.
"We can rework the ordinance and then instead of eliminating everything we can just reference the illegality of things under state law," Petrick said.
County commissioners voted to table the discussion, directing staff to review concerns raised by the community and commissioners and draft new ordinance language.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
