Florida recreational anglers can keep roughly 15 shark species, grouped by whether they have a minimum size, with a hard limit of one shark per person per day and two per vessel. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) sets the rules, and the species list, gear requirements, and permit obligations all have to line up before you put a shark in the cooler.
The Harvestable Species
Florida divides legal sharks into two groups based on minimum size.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sharks
Group 1 — no minimum size:
- Atlantic sharpnose
- Blacknose
- Blacktip
- Bonnethead
- Finetooth
- Smooth dogfish
- Florida smoothhound
- Gulf smoothhound
Group 2 — at least 54 inches at the fork of the tail:
- Bull
- Nurse
- Spinner
- Blue
- Porbeagle
- Common thresher
If the shark you caught isn’t on one of these two lists, it’s prohibited. The FWC’s guidance when you can’t tell what you’re looking at is simple: release it.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sharks
How Many You Can Keep
One shark per person per day. Two sharks total per vessel, no matter how many anglers are aboard.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sharks
Every shark you keep must stay whole, with head, tail, and all fins naturally attached until you reach the dock. Gilling and gutting on the water is allowed; nothing beyond that. The fin-attached rule exists so an officer can verify the species at the ramp.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sharks
Required Gear
Specific tackle is mandatory when you target or harvest sharks, from shore or from a boat.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sharks
- Non-offset, non-stainless-steel circle hooks whenever you fish with live or dead natural bait. Stainless steel is banned because it won’t corrode out of a released shark’s mouth.
- A device capable of quickly cutting the leader or hook, such as bolt cutters or cable cutters, so you can release prohibited species without taking them out of the water.
- Hook-and-line gear only. Treble hooks and other multi-point hooks with natural bait are not allowed for sharks.
The circle-hook and cutting-device requirements are codified in the Florida Administrative Code, and violating them is a separate offense from any species infraction.2Cornell Law Institute. Florida Admin Code 68B-44.006 – Allowed Gear
If You Fish From Shore
Fishing for sharks from a beach, pier, bridge, or jetty requires a Shore-based Shark Fishing permit in addition to a saltwater fishing license. The permit is free, but you have to complete an online FWC educational course to get it, and it has to be renewed annually.3Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Saltwater Recreational Licenses and Permits
Everyone 16 and older needs it, including anglers 65 and up who are otherwise exempt from a fishing license. No exemptions. The permit also applies even when you aren’t specifically targeting sharks, if you fish from shore using any of the following:
- A metal leader longer than four feet
- A fighting belt or harness
- Bait deployed by any means other than casting (kayak-deployed bait, for example) combined with a hook 1½ inches or wider
Anglers under 16 don’t need the permit, but they still have to take the course unless they’re fishing with someone who already holds one.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sharks
Chumming from the beach is prohibited for any species. If you accidentally hook a prohibited shark from shore, you cannot bring it onto dry land beyond the surf zone to unhook it.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sharks
License You Need First
Before the shark-specific rules even apply, you need a valid Florida saltwater fishing license. The resident annual license is $17. A non-resident annual license is $47; non-residents can also buy a three-day license for $17 or a seven-day license for $30.3Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Saltwater Recreational Licenses and Permits
Fishing from a vessel in federal waters (beyond nine nautical miles in the Gulf, three in the Atlantic) also requires a federal HMS (Highly Migratory Species) Angling permit with a shark endorsement, issued by NOAA.4NOAA Fisheries. Recreational Atlantic Shark Fishery Statuses, Minimum Sizes, and Bag Limits
Species You Must Release
Twenty-nine shark species are prohibited from harvest in Florida state waters. You cannot bring any of them onto a vessel, pier, bridge, or dry land beyond the surf zone. A hooked prohibited shark stays in the water with its gills submerged and is released without delay; if the hook is hard to reach, cut the leader as close to the hook as possible.5Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Prohibited Shark Species
The prohibited list:
- Atlantic angel
- Basking
- Bigeye sand tiger
- Bigeye sixgill
- Bigeye thresher
- Bignose
- Caribbean reef
- Caribbean sharpnose
- Dusky
- Galapagos
- Great hammerhead
- Lemon
- Longfin mako
- Narrowtooth
- Night
- Oceanic whitetip
- Sandbar
- Sand tiger
- Scalloped hammerhead
- Sevengill
- Shortfin mako
- Silky
- Sixgill
- Smalltail
- Smooth hammerhead
- Spiny dogfish
- Tiger
- Whale
- White
A few of these catch people off guard. Tiger sharks, lemon sharks, and all three hammerhead species are common in Florida waters, and anglers sometimes assume abundance equals legality. It doesn’t.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sharks
Different Rules Past the State Line
State regulations govern Florida’s territorial waters. Cross into federal waters and NOAA’s Atlantic Highly Migratory Species rules take over. They don’t match the state list.
Several species Florida prohibits are harvestable federally. Hammerhead sharks can be kept in federal waters if they meet a 78-inch fork-length minimum, even though all three hammerhead species are banned in state waters. Lemon and tiger sharks are federally harvestable but state-prohibited.4NOAA Fisheries. Recreational Atlantic Shark Fishery Statuses, Minimum Sizes, and Bag Limits
Going the other direction, shortfin mako retention in federal waters is currently set at zero until further notice. The federal closure is a population-level action that applies even to charter boats operating under HMS permits.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sharks
If you fish offshore, know exactly where state waters end and federal waters begin, and carry NOAA’s recreational shark identification placards.
What It Costs to Get It Wrong
Prohibited-shark violations in Florida carry escalating penalties.
- First violation: second-degree misdemeanor, $4,500 administrative fine, and a 180-day suspension of all FWC license privileges.
- Second violation: second-degree misdemeanor, $9,500 administrative fine, and a 365-day license suspension.
- Third or subsequent violation: first-degree misdemeanor, $9,500 fine, and permanent revocation of all FWC license privileges.
While suspended or revoked, you cannot fish from any vessel in state waters, be aboard a vessel carrying a commercial quantity of saltwater products, or do anything else that requires an FWC license or permit.6The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 379 – Section 379.2426
A boundary worth noting: possessing illegally harvested sharks can also trigger federal prosecution under the Lacey Act, which criminalizes trading in wildlife taken in violation of state, federal, or foreign law. Knowing violations involving wildlife worth more than $350 carry up to five years in prison and a $20,000 fine per violation; the “should have known” tier carries up to one year and a $10,000 fine.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 3373 – Penalties The Lacey Act matters most when shark products are bought, sold, or transported across state lines; even a legal-looking set of jaws or teeth can create federal exposure if the original harvest broke Florida law.