Martin County is revising its fishing regulations to comply with state law, a change that removes county authority over most saltwater fishing regulations and has prompted concerns from residents and county commissioners about shark fishing near public beaches.
Senior Assistant County Attorney Melissa Lynn Pietrzyk told county commissioners that recent state law changes leave the county with limited authority over saltwater fishing regulations.
"There is a state statute that has essentially preempted the powers from the county to regulate saltwater fishing. That includes shark fishing. Preemption meaning the state says, county, you can't control this anymore. The state has to control it," she said.
County officials said the proposed ordinance repeals local regulations that conflict with state law while preserving restrictions the county is still permitted to enforce.
"The statute does however recognize an exception allowing local governments to prohibit saltwater fishing on property owned by the county when necessary to protect public health, safety, and welfare. The amendment before you repeals provisions of the county code relating to saltwater fishing that are preempted by state law. The amendment also addresses public health, safety, and welfare concerns by prohibiting fishing within guarded beaches during guarded hours. It also prohibits fishing from boat docks when a boat is actively being launched or retrieved from the water," Assistant County Attorney Joseph Baron said.
The proposed changes have drawn public criticism from residents concerned that removing references to shark fishing from county code could weaken protections, even though shark fishing remains regulated under state law.
Among those urging the county to explore additional options was Indian Riverkeeper Jim Moir, who said commissioners should examine whether other measures could discourage shark fishing.
"I think it would be worthwhile looking into that and seeing if there's any language that we can conform to prohibit shark fishing in general from Martin County waters. Speaking for the animals, these animals are incredibly important to our ecosystems. The anglers offshore are complaining bitterly daily about how many of their caught fish are being depredated by sharks," he said. "Attracting more sharks to the coast is not only bad for human safety, but it's bad for angling. It's bad for our public awareness. It's bad for the sharks. I think we need to do whatever we can to not only protect the people, but protect the sharks."
Several commissioners also expressed concern about maintaining a safe environment for swimmers and visitors at county beaches.
"Our beaches are our crown jewels here on Hutchinson Island and Hobe Sound too. So we have to protect, obviously, our bathers. And if you have this sort of activity going on, I'm certain you can understand people will go elsewhere," Commissioner Eileen Vargas said.
Commissioner Edward Ciampi suggested expanding the county's restrictions around guarded beaches.
"So if the beach is manned from nine to five, can we say that we don't want shark fishing on the beaches an hour before and an hour after?" he asked.
Commissioners also directed staff to examine the use of remotely controlled drones that use chum to attract fish and sharks.
County Attorney Elysse Elder said staff plans to revise the ordinance so it references applicable state law rather than simply removing existing language from the county code.
"We can rework the wording of the ordinance to not completely remove it, but to reference state law. We do that in other areas of the code. And given the public's concerns, we can rework the ordinance. And then instead of eliminating everything, we would just reference the illegality of things under state laws," she said.
The ordinance is expected to return for further discussion at a future county commission meeting.