Species guide

Shark Fishing

FWC lists the sharks that may be harvested and 29 species prohibited from harvest in state waters. Fishing for sharks from shore requires FWC's online course and a no-cost shore-based shark fishing permit, both renewed annually.

Find shark charters Explore destinations

Shark

Every charter here names shark on its own website, checked on the captain's own site

Check before you keep a fish. Seasons and limits change, sometimes in the middle of a season, and a court or an agency can change them overnight. Seasons and limits are set state by state. The ones on this page are Florida's, copied from FWC and NOAA Fisheries in Sep 2026 and listed with their source at the foot of the page. We are not a regulatory authority. Confirm the rule for the water you will fish with your captain or with that state's wildlife agency.

Where to fish for shark

898 charters name shark on their own website, across 208 towns in 2 states.

State records for shark

The heaviest shark each state has certified, biggest first.

StateWeightWhereYearAngler
New York 3,450.00 — 8/6/ Don Braddick, Montauk, NYsource
Delaware 825 lb — 1981 Brent Thomassource
Florida 764.25 lb Longboat Key 1982 Warren Girlesource
North Carolina 610 lb Jennette's Ocean Pier 1962 Robert T. Kellersource
Texas 556 lb Gulf of Mexico 1973 Wolfgang Bushangsource
Maine 548 lb Bailey Island 1995 Wesley Hurst Jr.source
New Jersey 530 lb Off Great Egg Inlet 1987 Brian Dunlevysource
Massachusetts 495 lb Martha's Vineyard 2011 Jesse Siegelsource
Maryland 469 lb Ocean City 1982 Jim Libertosource
South Carolina 466.75 lb Charleston 1981 M. Almondsource
Georgia 272 lb — 1978 Bill Huntersource
Connecticut 191 lbs 0 oz Ryan's Horn 2013 Austin Urbansource

Each from that state's own records page, linked on every row. A location links to its town only where the agency named that town — a record logged to "Gulf of Mexico" or an offshore block belongs to no city. Weights are printed as the agency prints them. Records are certified by the state and can be broken at any time.

Shark species, one page each

Each has its own size, limit and permit rules.

About the fish

SizeBlacktip: maximum length about 6.5 feet, estimated to live up to 10 years
Where it livesCoastal waters, bays and estuaries, often inshore in schools
What it eatsMostly fish, plus small sharks, rays, squid, crabs and lobster

FWC says blacktips may leap clear of the water and spin several times before landing.

From FWC's species profile, checked Sep 2026.

Which rules apply to your trip

  • Targeting or keeping sharks from shore, including jetties, bridges and piers? Anyone 16 or older needs FWC's online course and no-cost shore-based shark fishing permit, renewed annually, including anglers 65 and older who are normally license-exempt.
  • One shark per person, and never more than two for the whole boat, however many people are aboard.
  • The 29 prohibited species may not be harvested in state waters. From shore or a vessel they must stay in the water with the gills submerged, and from shore they must be released without delay.
  • In federal Atlantic water the boat needs an HMS permit with a shark endorsement, and the limits are different again.

Harvest rules

When can you keep one in Florida?

Seasons and limits are set state by state, and these are Florida's. Shark is caught by charters in 2 states on this page; ask your captain which rules apply where you are fishing.

Florida

Florida state waters, under FWC rules.

  • All anglersFWC publishes no season for the species that may be keptThe 29 prohibited species may not be harvested in state waters.
54 inches fork length for the Group Two speciesSize limit
1 per personDaily limit. The Group One species have no minimum size. Never more than two sharks per vessel, even with more than two anglers aboard.

Atlantic federal waters

Atlantic sharks under NOAA highly migratory species rules, which also apply in state waters when fishing from an HMS-permitted vessel.

  • Anglers with an HMS permitNOAA publishes per-species status rather than datesCheck the status before fishing.
Fork length: 78 inches for hammerheads; 54 inches for blacktip, bull, lemon, nurse, spinner, tiger, blacknose, finetooth, blue, porbeagle and thresher; no minimum for Atlantic sharpnose, bonnethead and smoothhound.Size limit
1 per vessel per trip in total for hammerhead, blacktip, bull, lemon, nurse, spinner, tiger, blacknose, finetooth, blue, porbeagle and thresher; 1 per person per trip each for Atlantic sharpnose and bonnethead; no limit for smoothhound.Daily limit. The boat needs an HMS permit with a shark endorsement.

Gear rules

Non-offset, non-stainless circle hooks when fishing for sharks with natural bait, a device that can cut the leader or hook quickly, and no chumming when fishing from the beach.

Questions about shark

Do I need a permit to shark fish from the beach?

Yes. To target or keep sharks from shore, including jetties, bridges and piers, FWC requires anglers 16 and older to pass an online course and get the no-cost shore-based shark fishing permit, renewed annually. That includes anglers 65 and older who are normally exempt from a fishing license.

How many sharks can we keep?

Under FWC rules, one shark per person per day and no more than two per vessel, however many anglers are aboard. Under NOAA's Atlantic HMS rules, most species are limited to one per vessel per trip.

Which sharks can't be kept?

FWC lists 29 species prohibited from harvest in state waters, among them great, scalloped and smooth hammerhead, tiger, lemon, dusky, sandbar, sand tiger, shortfin and longfin mako, oceanic whitetip, basking, whale and white shark.

What hooks are required?

Non-offset, non-stainless-steel circle hooks when using live or dead natural bait, plus a device that can quickly cut the leader or hook, whether fishing from shore or a vessel.

Seasons, sizes and bag limits on this page were copied from FWC, shark regulations and FWC, blacktip shark profile and NOAA Fisheries, recreational Atlantic shark limits in Sep 2026. Rules change, sometimes mid-season. Check the current rule with your captain or FWC before you keep a fish.