July 17, 2008

Question: A friend of mine went out Thresher shark fishing this week off of Newport Beach in his relatively small boat, but didn’t catch any. I asked him what in the heck he would have done if he’d hooked one because I think it would have been too big for him to safely land it. He said he was going to bring it up to his boat, SHOOT IT, and then drag it home. Is shooting a shark legal? And is it legal to have guns on a boat at all? What about using a bang stick? I know the laws on traveling with a firearm and safe storage of a gun and all that jazz, but I’ve never heard of any laws pertaining to possession on a boat on the ocean. What’s the law on this? (Mark S.)

Answer: Sport fishermen may take sharks by hand, hook and line, spearfishing, spear, harpoon or bow and arrow (ref. Sections 28.65, 28.90 and 28.95.)

Firearms are not a legal method of take for sharks, so a gun can’t be used to assist in the taking or landing of a shark. A bang stick would be considered a firearm in this case, and would therefore not be a legal method of take for sharks either. However, if a shark is already in the person’s possession (in the boat), the DFG does not regulate how it is killed. For safety reasons though, I would hope that you would choose to use another method.

In regards to the legality of shooting a firearm from your boat, it would depend on your location, what county/city you are in, and how far offshore. In general, no city allows you to discharge a firearm in their jurisdiction. A person would have to contact the city/county law enforcement office that has jurisdiction over the area they are fishing to determine how far off-shore they would need to be.

What if you have a rope around the things tail and want to quiet it down? Would a noose around the tail be considered in my possession?

No.

So many problems with this.

1.  Bang sticks are firearms according to whom exactly?

2.  Take and assist in take are not the same thing. "Integral part of take" is a phrase fabricated by Carrie Wilson and appears exactly nowhere in the regs.

3.  Firearms are not legal for sturgeon. That is in fact in the regs. Why is it necessary to specify that you can't use them for stiurgeon if they are not a legal means of assisting in landing for any game fish?

I could go on. But on these three points alone, I call shenanigans.

The gear restriction for taking Thresher Sharks are spelled out on page 102 of the California Sport Fishing Regulations, Ocean Edition: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=77722&inline=true

Sec. 28.65, 28.90, 28.91, 28.95

From page 43:

28.65. GENERAL. Except as provided in this article, fin fish may be taken only on hook and line or by hand. Any number of hooks and lines may be used in all ocean waters and bays except:
(d) No gaff hook shall be used to take or assist in landing any finfish shorter than the minimum size limit. For the purpose of this section a gaff hook is any hook with or without a handle used to assist in landing fish or to take fish in such a manner that the fish does not take the hook voluntarily in its mouth. No person shall take finfish from any boat or other floating device in ocean waters without having a landing net in possession or available for immediate use to assist in landing undersize fish of species having minimum size limits; the opening of any such landing net shall be not less than eighteen inches in diameter.

From page 44:

28.90. DIVING, SPEARFISHING. Persons who are floating or swimming in the water may use spearfishing gear and skin or SCUBA diving equipment to take fin fish other than giant (black) sea bass, garibaldi, gulf grouper, broomtail grouper, trout, salmon or broadbill, except that:

28.91. SLURP GUNS. Slurp guns may be used to take finfish except that bag and possession limits shall not be exceeded wherever they apply and no species of finfish may be taken for which a minimum size limit has been established (see Sections 27.60 and 28.00-28.55).

28.95. SPEARS, HARPOONS AND BOW AND ARROW FISHING TACKLE. Spears, harpoons and bow and arrow fishing tackle may be used for taking all varieties of skates, rays, and sharks, except white sharks. Such gear may not be possessed or used within 100 yards of the mouth of any stream in any ocean waters north of Ventura County, nor aboard any vessel on any day or on any trip when broadbill swordfish or marlin have been taken. Bow and arrow fishing tackle may be used to take finfish other than giant (black) sea bass, garibaldi, gulf grouper, broomtail grouper, trout, salmon, broadbill swordfish and white shark.

Firearms are not listed as a legal method of take.

So,  you've hooked,  fought and have an 8ft shark to the side of your boat.

I can get a noose around it's tail that is connected to my boat and slowly make my way back in. The entire time I'm dragging the shark back in,  it isn't considered in my possession?

So, I don't see a gaff listed as a means of take, so I can't attempt to get the thing in my boat with a gaff? I'm trying to drag an 8ft. Live shark, tail first into my boat to subdue it. And I can't attempt to thump it with a baseball bat while it's in the water, cause dfg in all its wisdom says it's illegal.

So now, I've got an 8ft. Live shark thrashing around on deck.  It's now "in my possession" and I get to attempt to straddle the thing and try to bloody my decks with a knife by getting close to it's head to stab it's tiny brain or cut it's gills.

Doesn't it seem like the safest way to subdue the thing would be to shoot it? Does dfg have any info on how this scenario should play out without your gear getting battered over the side, or yourself bit or stabbed?

So, I don't see a gaff listed as a means of take, so I can't attempt to get the thing in my boat with a gaff? I'm trying to drag an 8ft. Live shark, tail first into my boat to subdue it. And I can't attempt to thump it with a baseball bat while it's in the water, cause dfg in all its wisdom says it's illegal.

Gaffs are allowed. I have edited my quote from the regulations to reflect this.

So now, I've got an 8ft. Live shark thrashing around on deck.  It's now "in my possession" and I get to attempt to straddle the thing and try to bloody my decks with a knife by getting close to it's head to stab it's tiny brain or cut it's gills.

There are plenty of reports of our members taking sharks from kayaks, and bringing them on board. If they can do that while on a kayak, it can surely be done on a boat.