Public records reveal thousands of sharks and rays are being legally taken from the wild into captivity under the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) ‘Special Activity License’, including many with protections under Florida law, the ESA, or CITES.
>2/3 of sharks and rays permitted for capture in the past decade were redlisted, including critically endangered species like hammerheads, oceanic whitetips, and bentfin devil rays. The top-targeted species was the cownose ray, a social pelagic migrator captured in huge numbers for the exploding demand for touch tanks.
Corporations stocking tanks with wild-captured threatened sharks and rays include highly accredited aquaria. 95% of third-party contract licenses named Dynasty Marine — the corporation filmed capturing a manta in July.
This investigation is ongoing and these figures do not include hundreds of other marine species licensed in capture permits. Future work will document them, as well as the actual numbers reportedly captured.
For the next two days, a public comment period is open on this program. Leave yours now at the link in bio (detailed instructions in story) and show up to the FWC online meeting this Thursday, Dec. 18th at 6PM EST, where revisions to the SAL program are on the agenda.
End the #PermitPipeline to captivity for marine wildlife.
#GeorgiaAquarium #FloridaAquarium #Aquarium #Hammerhead #Manta #TigerShark #CownoseRay #FishAreWildlife
The SHARKED Act moving through the US senate is billed as a bipartisan initiative to resolve conflict between fishermen and sharks. But beneath the surface, the interests lobbying for this legislation have been plotting for years to revive the US shark longline industry.
The SHARKED Act is the political project of a corporate coalition between the Atlantic longline fleet and the charter fishing lobby, which claims that sharks are ‘stealing their catch’, spreading the myth that sharks have become ‘overpopulated’ — and must be culled. The politicized task force outlined in the SHARKED Act could be stacked with industry executives or politicians with an agenda to strip shark protections and deregulate commercial fishing.
We’re launching a campaign to stop them.
How you can help:
1. If you live in the US, write a letter urging your senators to vote no. Use the link in bio to send the template in seconds or personalize it for more impact.
2. Join us in calling on @senbrianschatz , the Democratic cosponsor, to withdraw his support from this deceptive bill and remove its bipartisan status.
3. Pitch in to our fundraiser for a short documentary film exposing the interests and politicians behind the plot to kill the sharks.
4. Like, share, comment, and follow.
Long l̶i̶n̶e̶ live the sharks. 🦈
Approved reforms are tepid and superficial.
Despite widespread outcry, extensive rulemaking workshops, and overwhelming public commentary against Florida Wildlife Commission’s program issuing permits to capture endangered and prohibited species for the aquarium trade, FWC has approved final rules making only superficial changes to its Special Activity License program, which will have little effect on the state’s unique policy of permitting aquarium corporations to capture marine megafauna.
In workshops, proposals included options to halt the trade of marine life listed under the Endangered Species Act or prohibited to take under Florida law. The vast majority of public comments supported these proposals, but the agency chose none of the above.
Instead, FWC’s new rules tout the prohibition of manta exports — which was already illegalized under international law at CITES this winter. To the agency’s credit, it did take positive steps to reduce manta capture permits and prohibit exports of ESA-listed wildlife, however these changes affect very few species or permits issued by the agency.
These new rules do little for mantas and nothing to address Florida’s enormous captivity pipeline for endangered sharks revealed in public records. Despite a few tepid reforms, FWC has chosen to continue writing billion-dollar aquarium corporations exemptions for wildlife protections anyone else in Florida must follow, and horrific scenes like the manta capture that drew outrage across the internet will continue in Florida waters when no one is watching.
#Manta #PermitPipeline #FWC #FishAreWildlife
FWC drops its nuclear option to prevent shark fishing bans from spreading across the state.
The agency intends to take back all local shark fishing laws, which have stood since 2008.
#SaveFloridaSharks #LandBasedSharkFishing #FWC #FishAreWildlife
LAST DAY to raise your voice:
Tomorrow’s vote in Marco Island will ripple through the state. Local lawmakers have introduced a modest law to stop shark fishing at night during turtle nesting season. Florida Wildlife Commission has tried to intimidate local leaders to stand down, reversing their position of nearly 20 years on local authority to prohibit shark fishing.
This community has fought for two months leading to this vote. Councilors and residents advocating for wildlife have faced harassment and threats. Fishermen on the island had the nerve to post this days before.
WE NEED YOUR HELP. Take a few moments to write an email *in your own words* urging the city council to stay the course. If you need help, there is an email template in the bio.
[email protected]
#Sawfish #LandBasedSharkFishing #EndangeredSpecies #MarcoIsland #FishAreWildlife
MARCO ISLAND VOTES MONDAY on whether to protect sharks and turtles from these lines during nesting season.
FWC has put its thumb on the scale against wildlife, sending a legal letter to the city after they voted yes in the first hearing. Here’s what we need:
SEND AN EMAIL in seconds using the template in bio.
SHOW UP in person at Marco Island community room, 5:30 May 4th or send a DM to carpool with us from Miami.
#GhostGear #LandBasedSharkFishing #SaveFloridaSharks #FishAreWildlife
Testimony by Fish Defender director Spencer Roberts on Marco Island, April 20
After this hearing, the city council voted 4-2 to advance an ordinance strengthening its turtle protection laws to close loopholes being used to fish for sharks at night in large groups with bright lights, drones, and commercial-grade fishing gear on top of sea turtle habitat during nesting season. This ordinance was a significant compromise, affecting shark fishing for a quarter of the year instead of the whole thing.
From casting bait with drones to dragging protected species onto the beach for selfies, many highly common practices in land-based shark fishing are already illegal, yet go virtually or entirely unenforced by law enforcement at the local, state, and federal levels.
The council chair, effectively the mayor, tried to sidestep the ordinance, attempting to cut a personal deal with a local shark fisherman to move their operation to Tigertail, away from condos and into a critical wildlife area, the darkest part of the island and best remaining sea turtle nesting habitat.
The room erupted in protest. Locals were overwhelmingly pro-shark, applauding after our testimonies as the mayor struck his gavel and booing and groaning as shark fishermen cast themselves as victims on the stand. In the end, the council overrode the mayor, making the right choice to protect the community’s wildlife.
But now Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) is reversing a decades-old policy and positioning to thwart local efforts to protect sharks and swimmers. More to come…
#Sharks #BanSharkFishing #SaveFloridaSharks #FishAreWildlife
Shark Fishing in Texas -
This is what it looks like.
And this is why banning it matters.
This is a blacktip.
About 46% don’t survive after being caught and released.
Sharks are vital to our oceans and to our existence.
I’m honored to be working with @fish_defender -
working toward banning shark fishing - in Florida, Texas and across the US.
For the ones we’ve lost…
and the ones that still have a chance.
🦈
Petition to End land based shark fishing in Texas in Linktree in bio!
#savesharks
#protectwhatyoulove
#banlbsf
#saveouroceans
Safe Shelter on Neon Reef
This week has been insane. I genuinely did not expect the amount of hate, harassment, and threats that would come from trying to protect sharks. Now I see why other groups don’t touch these issues. But someone has to. We have to understand that they use intimidation as a political tactic. I have seen how effective it can be — and how it crumbles when we don’t back down.
Shark protections are backsliding at every level of government, partially because system is stacked against us, partially because the only people engaging the political process are those that want to kill them.
That’s what we’re trying to change. Thank you to everyone who answered our calls to action this week. If you haven’t yet, you can knock them out quickly with the bio links.
It’s easy to get sucked into the surge, but we’re playing the long game. We will need to learn to live with this madness and find safe shelter and time to breathe, like a baby nurse shark under a ledge on Neon Reef, still a little spotty.
Coming together with everyone to celebrate @NeonReefDoc felt a little like this — a peaceful place in a rough, turbid sea. But we have to get back out there.
#NurseShark #NeonReef #BabyShark #FishAreWildlife
SUBMIT A PUBLIC COMMENT
Sandbar sharks are not overpopulated. They are heavily depleted. Do not reopen season on sandbar sharks and unleash commercial longlining on our fragile deep sea ecosystems and imperiled shark populations. Conflicts between sharks and fishermen are driven by shark prey depletion. A problem caused by fishing cannot be solved by more fishing. Maintain the sandbar shark retention ban.
Leave a public comment using the link in bio.
#SandbarShark #NOAAFisheries #SharkConservation #FishAreWildlife
ACTION NEEDED: EMAIL TODAY
Marco Island City Council will vote THIS EVENING on whether to strengthen the city’s sea turtle protection laws and close loopholes that are being used to exempt shark fishing.
Send an email in seconds using the template link in bio.
#LandBasedSharkFishing #MarcoIsland #Florida #BlacktipShark #FishAreWildlife
