Thread: Shark population question/opinion

It's just wild hearing the reports on facebook with the sharks.

I really wonder if the position of gssp in relation to all the passes and bays plays a role with the local shark population, along with increased regs spurring a population boom. It's location definitely makes it one of the best piers for fishing for multiple species. It's just insane seeing that large of a presence with sharks in that specific area. I know of no other pier from North Carolina to Texas with a similar issue. I've witnessed shark chew downs before but they are strictly following migrating schools of bunker or mullet. GSSP literally has a huge local population that just hangs out there.

Going back to 2010, the shark numbers weren't so thick. 2013/2014 was when we started witnessing increases and it has just exponentially exploded each year.

It would be nice if we could get a permit/course to legally harvest sharks from the pier. Even then, I'm not sure if it would alleviate the issue if it is from increased regs and/or the geographical location of the pier.

I just know it really sucks when we plan trips there with the family, take vacation time, spend $1000's of dollars locally, just to have anything we target sharked at the pilings. All 3 kings we've ever hooked had this happen, tons of spanish, pomps, a few reds, and quite a few mangroves. Being disabled and not as skilled with a gaff/net definitely doesn't help, but it never hindered us at other piers. When we fish perdido pass or even surf fishing, the issue isn't there, just gssp.

There's a few piers that have rubble close by without the same issue. For example Skyway bridge/pier in Tampa. They have a decent presence of sharks and dolphin, but it's nowhere near the degree of gssp.