New Protections for White Sharks
White shark [CDFW photo by Liz Hellmers]
On Monday, Sept. 19, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 2109, providing new protections for white sharks in California waters. White sharks, also called great white sharks, are already a protected species and an important part of the ocean ecosystem as top-level predators. There is enormous public and scientific interest in them.
Sponsored by Assemblymember Steve Bennett, the bill passed the California legislature with an overwhelming majority of support. The new restrictions aim to get ahead of activities that may lead to increased interactions between white sharks and humans, and to give law enforcement more tools to protect white sharks from intentional efforts to catch or attract them. The new law also helps protect the public from interactions with white sharks that have been unintentionally hooked by fishermen by restricting when and where chum and shark bait can be used, while still allowing other legal fishing activities to continue.
“Sharks are one of California’s most iconic marine species, and it’s our responsibility to ensure that their populations are sustained,” Assemblymember Bennett said. “At the same time, public safety is of the utmost importance.”
“This bill represents a collaborative engagement between anglers, the scientific community, the legislature and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to develop proactive, common-sense approaches to further protect California’s iconic white sharks, while also protecting ocean users and preserving recreational fishing opportunities,” said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham.
Anglers should note the new rules regarding take of white sharks go into effect on January 1, 2023. These rules, found in California Fish and Game Code, section 5517, prohibit the use of shark bait, shark lures or shark chum to attract a white shark. Anglers also may not place those items into the water within one nautical mile of any shoreline, pier or jetty, when a white shark is visible or known to be present.
CDFW continues to work with partners to proactively address the potential for fishing activities to lead to white shark interactions. The Coastal Conservation Association of California (CCA CAL) is also very supportive of protecting white sharks.
“We fight for responsible and sustainable fishing practices while also supporting regulations to protect our most vulnerable resources,” said Wayne Kotow, executive director for CCA CAL. “We are all stewards of the resources and need to work together for the future of our favorite sport of fishing.”
“We have seen increased use of California beaches as nursery habitat for juvenile white sharks,” said Dr. Chris Lowe, a professor in marine biology and director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach. “This bill will help reduce fishery interactions with white sharks, helping the protected sharks and ocean users by reducing the risk of hooking these sharks at public beaches and ocean piers where people are swimming, surfing and diving.”
For more information about white sharks, please visit CDFW’s White Shark Information webpage, which includes answers to frequently asked questions, as well as shark incident information going back to 1950. Additional questions may be sent to CDFW’s Marine Region via email.
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all sharks matter
It’s important that old white men have the opportunity to make veiled racist statements to sound relevant…
What’s ironic is you have no idea the actual race of the person who just commented so you’re the actual racist here buddy
That’s not how it works.
It is how it should work. After all assuming a person is racist because they make light of a BLM mantra is like assuming they are a rapist because they make a joke about women. That would make all drag queens rapists. It just trivializes the word racist.
It is racist to trivialize a movement for racial equality. Making racist jokes is racist. Making a joke about women may not make you a rapist, but it sure makes you a shitty person. I’m not sure what drag queens have to do with it, since they aren’t trivializing women or women’s issues.
And again…just because you think that’s the way it should work doesn’t make it so.
I can’t imagine how you’ve survived rap music.
Were you alive during the days of George Carlin, Lenny Bruce?
Ever hear…………….
Rickey Smiley, Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Harvey?
Drag queens are like blackface- exaggeration for parody and never exaggeration for appreciation. Of course they are making fun of women. Not the women’s movement. Women. Without exaggeration, there is no humor. And there is always a market for that. Women seldom riot or spray men with automatic weapons. It’s always safe.
What kind of person thinks that trivializing women is just fine but trivializing a political movement because it involves race is not? Don’t answer that it is a rhetorical question. The answer is obvious.
All lives matter, including sharks. Got a problem with that. What are you gonna do about it? Answer: absolutely nothing. FYI, BLM is a Marxist racist organization of mostly white liberals. You can tell it is almost election time. The liberals are getting desperate and lashing out at all perceived threats, foreign and domestic, knowing the ring is slipping from their long creepy Gollum fingers. Did you see the chp dash cam video of that thug mobster Paul Pelosi squirming like a rat after his dui? I did and he is emblematic of the situation liberals find themselves in. They are screwed. Stay out of the water, you might get bit.
I am amazed at the rhetoric of the left and how transparent it truly is. In following what is going on in Ukraine and Russia, I am astounded at the similarities of the Russian and left wing US propaganda machines. They are very obviously using the same play book. However, our machine is a little less elegant, while trying to be so Putinesque.
Go Sharks.
Seems more like a political comment than a racist statement. Then some people call any comment they don’t like “racist.”
You not understanding what makes it racist doesn’t mean it isn’t.
Neither does your not understanding it isn’t makes it so.
I literally cannot imagine what it’s like to live a life with a mind brainwashed by Marxist communism.
Are you just mad at everybody all the time because you assume everybody’s wronging you somehow? Is that what they teach you in schools these days? That you’re a constant victim? You sound like a child.
Lighten up.
Just another dumbass law by Newsom. People that have been chomped on by a great white and others that have been killed I would think this law is meaningless to them. We have more to worry about in California than some sharks. This goes along well with his newly appointed office by Bonita “Office for the Protection from Gun Violence.” To quote Biden “the white shark killing spree is finally over.” Everyone back into the water!
Well yeah, this law probably is meaningless to people that have been killed by sharks. Because they’re, you know, dead.
Your comment was as bright as a one-watt bulb!
I wonder how the sharks are going to like a coast full of windmills.
It will be great for them. Lots of fishermen and a few falling in the water makes for a tasty treat. It is my understanding that windmills actually attract a large number of fish species that live in the surrounding waters.
law is unenforceable. How does DFW show that the person was aware there was a white shark within a mile?
The notice says with one mile of the shore, not the shark. Actually try to attract sharks does seem a two edged sword- you may get to enjoy a shark steak but bringing it close to people might mean it gets to enjoy a people steak too.
They are going to use a fake shark fitted with a GoPro camera that will show everyone on and in the water.
Is there a common political affiliation of white shark attack victims ?
Asking for a friend.
Yes, suckers!
they’re great !
The state of California needs to pump out asinine legislation like this in order to maintain some appearance of caring for their people. The state government will concern itself with shark attacks long before the rising food and energy costs. They will regulate the common man’s use of fuel, chum, and everything else before they touch corporate ag, Silicon Valley, etc.
Soon there will be no place for US citizens here. Only imported, illiterate, third-world slaves and their elitist masters will be allowed. If you can’t afford filet mignon for dinner, well it’s takis chips and bud light for you.
Of course the dutiful kym kemp publishes these nonsense press releases without rebuttal or investigation.
So, anyway, how does the state define “shark bait, shark lures, shark chum”? I think a guy in a wetsuit qualifies as all three of those things.
Attacks on our fishing and hunting rights scare me a lot more than the remote prospect of shark attack.
There seems to be no hope for Californians.
You don’t want to know that the government is doing this?….
I’m pretty much on the computer 14 hours per day. I can’t really fit in more. BUT, I’d sure love to hire someone to cover more stories in depth. If you’d like to donate, so that we can cover more in depth, my freelancers (who get every cent donated) would love more work.
Or you can just blame a site you don’t pay for, for somehow not miraculously creating more stories that you won’t pay for.
Thank you for publishing my previous comment uncensored.
I’m interested why you respond so fervently to the slightest criticism. Perhaps 14 hours a day is too much for you, and you’ve got better things to do. I should hope so!
I do like to know what my government does, and the press release from cdfw in my email box was sufficient in this case. I also check your site, and comment on the content on occasion. So what?
Last I checked you provide “free”content on the internet, sure. But you also earn revenue from “clicks” (you’re welcome) and advertising and self promoting your ganja brand. Maybe a few donations hit your tin cup, but at this point your rattling the cup harder than kmud. Lamenting those stacks of crisp “garberville $20’s”. I’d wager that the number of readers volunteering payment here is crashing with the entire economy.
Sorry! For now I won’t be donating, but I will provide free criticism!
Do I respond “fervently” to criticism?
I like to think I provide a forum where the reader as well as the authors are valued and their complaints considered carefully and responded to even when disagreed with. The magic word on this site is “Kym” I almost always read all comments but especially those that include my name so I can be responsive if needed. I think it’s important when someone has power to delete those who disagree with them to be particularly responsive to those that are not in agreement with me. I feel responsible for explaining my position. (Also, I was a teacher and sometimes compulsively try to educate people who don’t understand how things work.)
Yes, 14 hours a day is too much but, I do love what I do minus a few aspects. And I generally feel that what I do has value and helps a community I love.
You say, “I do like to know what my government does, and the press release from cdfw in my email box was sufficient in this case.” I know you know that the world is not all about you and that there are a number of readers who learned about this only because they read it here. I’m glad you are following CDFW, but my goal is to provide information on as many subjects as possible to answer as many of my readers needs as possible. You said, “Of course the dutiful kym kemp publishes these nonsense press releases without rebuttal or investigation.” I’m explaining in my response that it is important, whether one likes what the government is doing or not, to know what it is saying and planning on doing. And while you may be informed not everyone else was.
I don’t earn revenue from “clicks”…I don’t know how that would work. I do earn revenue from advertisers who, understandably want the most viewers of their ads as possible so in that sense each reader adds an infinitesimal plus to the website. But if you think I work long hours for the money gained from advertisers is to ignore that I didn’t get a cent for doing this until five years after I started and didn’t get paid even minimum wage for the time I spent on site until just a few years ago. As to the ganja brand…sigh…as you pointed out marijuana is not a big money maker right now. That is not a money making business. That is my son’s love and skill that I try to support.
As to rattling the cup…good criminy…I don’t know why anyone even slightly educated would think that journalism is a high paying job and anyone who has paid any attention to my “cup rattling” realizes, I don’t take home a cent of it. I use it to pay freelancers so we can try to cover more stories for my community. They are vastly underpaid. And I wish our readers would value the time they spent on an article. Just a dime set aside every time a reader looked at a piece would vastly up the pay I can offer those folks. In August, I had 2 million page views. If even half of the readers sent me a dime for every time they viewed an article, I’d have a $100,000 per month to spend on providing this community with quality, in depth looks at CDFW as well as many other subjects.
I appreciate this rather fervent response, kym, be it a bit verbose and self-contradictory. But your heart, strong as it is, is untempered by reality.
Anywho, back to my most relevant question- can anyone define “shark bait, shark lures, shark chum”?
Forrest
Ya well good luck getting the sharks to follow the rules!