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SHARKED Act Clears House, Moves to Senate
As someone who’s spent most of my life fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and has experienced the enormous loss of fish from shark depredation, I was encouraged to see the House of Representatives pass the SHARKED Act.
The SHARKED Act (Supporting the Health of Aquatic systems through Research, Knowledge, and Enhanced Dialogue) will hopefully lead to a real, tangible plan that addresses the growing challenge of shark depredation. (sharks remove hooked fish from fishing lines before retrieval)
Congressman Rob Wittman introduced the bill in 2023 and recently posted on his website, “As a lifelong fisherman and former marine scientist, I’ve seen firsthand how sharks stealing fish affects our waters and fishing community.” Like many other anglers who have experienced the growing number of sharks, Wittman seems to understand the impact of this problem.
“It’s great to see both parties working together on this issue when Washington is usually stuck in gridlock,” Congressman Wittman added, urging the Senate to pass the bill quickly.
The economic toll is serious. Mike Leonard from the American Sportfishing Association puts it in perspective, “Saltwater recreational fishing is a huge part of the nation’s economy, contributing $73.8 billion in sales impacts and supporting 487,000 U.S. jobs. In many parts of the country, shark depredation is one of the top concerns of the recreational fishing community.”
The legislation has earned endorsements from an impressive array of organizations, including the American Fisheries Society, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, Center for Sportfishing Policy, Coastal Conservation Association, Guy Harvey Foundation, and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, among others.
“This is a problem affecting fishermen across the country,” said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman. “This bill gives the government the tools to work with local communities to find real solutions.”
While I am cautiously optimistic, what gives me hope about this bill is its practical approach. It’s designed to create a team of experts – including people who actually understand fishing – to study the problem and find real solutions. They’ll look at everything from fishing patterns to shark behavior, trying to figure out why this problem has gotten so much worse and what we can do about it.
The bill provides a seven-year timeline for the task force to study the problem and put their plans into action.
The bill will now move on to the Senate and, if passed, will be signed into law by the president.
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