By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Is it time to cue up the spine-chilling theme music from the 1975 blockbuster movie “Jaws?”
Photos and video have been circulating on social media in recent weeks showing sharks being caught off the beach in Sea Isle City or cruising around not too far offshore.
Now, a local resident is asking Sea Isle officials to step in and prohibit what he believes are questionable techniques for catching sharks, including the use of drones and kayaks.
“I just want to be clear that surf fishing is not a problem. The problem is the shark fishermen trying to lure sharks close to shore,” said Ed Dunn, a resident of 36th Street.
Dunn believes that if someone wants to fish for sharks, they should charter a boat and go out to where they are in the ocean rather than drawing them closer to shore where swimmers are in the water.
In public remarks at a City Council meeting on June 28, Dunn urged the governing body to approve an ordinance that would define exactly what surf fishing is and prohibit anglers from using “mechanical devices” to catch sharks.
Dunn seemed to elicit support from some of the Council members when he described how some fishermen at the 36th Street beach have used drones, kayaks and baited hooks to catch sharks.
“It doesn’t sound like it’s very sportsman-like or humane,” Councilman Jack Gibson said.
Councilman J.B. Feeley asked Dunn what the fishermen do with the sharks after they haul them ashore.
“They relocate it,” Dunn replied.
Dunn explained that the fishermen have been catching what are considered harmless sharks off the 36th Street beach so far. He is worried that eventually they will attract more aggressive sharks close to the beach near swimmers or surfers.
The neighboring beach at 37th Street is used for surfing lessons, Dunn pointed out.
Before he appeared at the Council meeting, Dunn had emailed City Business Administrator George Savastano to complain about the way sharks were being caught by some fishermen in Sea Isle.
Sea Isle officials are discussing what legal authority – if any – the city might have to regulate shark fishing off the beach following Dunn’s request for a new ordinance to define surf fishing, City Solicitor Paul Baldini said.
Meanwhile, photos posted recently on social media appear to show what are sand tiger sharks being caught in Sea Isle.
“Despite its fearsome appearance and strong swimming ability, it is a relatively placid and slow-moving shark with no confirmed human fatalities,” a Wikipedia entry says about sand tigers.
In June, a group of fishermen posted video of what was believed to be an 8-foot to 12-foot great white shark that they spotted while in a boat about one mile off Sea Isle. They saw the shark while approaching Townsends Inlet, a deep channel connecting the bay and ocean between Sea Isle and Avalon.
Steve Nagiewicz, a professor of marine science at Stockton University, told the United Press International news agency that sharks swimming in the waters of the Jersey Shore are an indication of a healthy ecosystem.
“I have students who tell me all the time that they found a shark and it’s unique. They’re always there, but they stay away from people. It’s a good thing. It means the environment’s healthy,” Nagiewicz was quoted by UPI.
