Florida - Wednesday November 30: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has set the Florida state waters recreational bag limit for Atlantic Shortfin Mako Sharks at zero.
The FWC approved the zero bag limit at their meeting on November 30.
Commercial harvest of shortfin Mako is already prohibited in state and federal waters.
This new rule will make Florida’s state regulations consistent with federal regulations, address overfishing of the shortfin Mako shark. It also supports the coordinated U.S. and international effort to manage the Atlantic shortfin Mako.
Shortfin Mako sharks are overfished and have suffered unsustainable population declines globally. The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that shortfin Mako sharks have experienced a median reduction of 46.6%. It has assessed the species as “endangered” on the Red List of Threatened Species.
Learn more about shark regulations by visiting MyFWC.com/Marine and clicking on “Recreational Regulations” and “Sharks” under the “Regulations by Species – General Species” tab or download the Fish Rules App at Instagram.com/FishRulesApp or Facebook.com/FishRulesApp. For more information on the Commission meeting, including the Nov. 30–Dec. 1, Commission meeting presentation, visit MyFWC.com/Commission and click on “Commission Meetings