It’s no accident that a shark-related bill moving quickly through Congress was introduced by legislators in coastal states, where the problem of sharks stealing fish off anglers’ lines has become commonplace. The bipartisan SHARKED Act stands for Supporting the Health of Aquatic Ecosystems through Research, Knowledge, and Enhanced Dialogue. It would establish a task force for understanding and dealing with the rise in shark depredations that saltwater anglers and charter captains say is a real concern.
“Feeding sharks with the fish we hook is an everyday occurrence for me and just about every other charter captain I know in the Florida Keys,” Capt. Joel Brandenburg told Outdoor Life in July 2024. “The sharks roaming ledges and reefs are trained to come to fishing boats and hang there waiting for an easy meal.”
The 2025 SHARKED Act was initially sponsored by Congressman Robert Wittman (R-VA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, where it passed easily in January. Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced a companion bill in the Senate in July that quickly passed through committee, according to the American Sportfishing Association.
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“Conflicts between anglers and sharks are expected to increase as shark populations continue to improve,” the ASA stated in a recent action alert. It is one of 14 fishing and sportsmen’s groups that have signed a letter in support of the legislation.
If the bill becomes law, it would establish a task force made up of state and federal fisheries managers, as well as researchers, marine biologists, and other shark experts. The goal would be to understand why sharks are so frequently depredating hooked fish and explore ways to minimize those interactions.
Supporters of the legislation say that as shark populations have rebounded, partly as a result of protections and harvest restrictions, the number of depredating sharks (nicknamed “taxmen” by fishermen) has grown, especially in the South Atlantic and the Gulf. Florida captains like Brandenburg, who’ve become increasingly frustrated with sharks stealing their fish, have continued to document this problem.
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“Historically, we didn’t have these encounters with sharks, so people are a little nervous,” says Kellie Ralston, conservation and public policy vice president for the Miami-based Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. “An important part of the conversation is understanding why we are seeing such an increase in interactions between sharks and anglers. Is it something we would expect with population rebound in general? Or have we overcorrected, and 1755133803 we’re top heavy on sharks versus fish? That’s what the task force needs to address.”
BTT is now in the second year of its own study, the Shark Depredation Project, which seeks to answer some of these same questions. Researchers are tagging 50 lemon sharks, the depredating species most commonly reported by fishing guides, and then tracking those sharks to see where they go and what they eat. Although the project is based in the Florida Keys, BTT hopes the results can inform management decisions nationwide.
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