Fishing for sharks in U.S. waters is legal, but it is tightly regulated, and the rules decide far more than what goes in the cooler. This guide covers the permits a beginner needs, the prohibited species you have to recognize on sight, the shark fishing gear that federal and Florida rules require, and the handling habits that give a released shark its best chance.
It focuses on federal rules for the Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean, and uses Florida as the state example. Pacific and Hawaii rules are not covered here. Regulations change, so check your state wildlife agency’s current rules before every trip.
Do you need a permit to fish for sharks?
Usually, yes. NOAA Fisheries manages Atlantic sharks as highly migratory species (HMS), a group that also includes tunas, billfish and swordfish. A boat fishing for Atlantic sharks needs a valid HMS Angling permit or HMS Charter/Headboat permit, and one permit covers everyone fishing aboard, according to NOAA’s recreational Atlantic shark limits and prohibited species page.
The permit alone is not enough. Holders also need a shark endorsement, which requires watching a short video and passing a quiz during the application, NOAA explains in its frequently asked questions on HMS permits. The quiz focuses on shark identification. If you hold the permit but skipped the endorsement, any shark that takes your bait while you target other fish has to go back, according to NOAA’s 2025 recreational compliance guide.
A few practical points apply. The vessel needs a U.S. Coast Guard documentation number or a state registration number before you can buy the permit. Applications and renewals have been online-only since 2025. The permit must be renewed every year, and a hard copy has to be on board and shown to NOAA Fisheries personnel if they ask.
Anglers in a registered recreational HMS tournament can fish from a vessel holding an Atlantic Tunas General category permit instead. Make sure the event is registered with NOAA.
The federal permit is tied to a vessel, so shore anglers look to their state. NOAA tells anglers to check state rules on keeping sharks in state waters. In Florida, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) says anglers on an HMS-permitted boat must follow the permit’s requirements in both state and federal waters.
How Florida’s shore-based shark fishing permit works
Florida shows how one state adds its own layer. Its shore-based shark fishing permit is free and renews annually, but anglers must first complete an online educational course, according to FWC’s shark fishing rules page. Anyone 16 or older needs the permit, and that includes seniors 65 and up, even though they usually don’t need a fishing license. Kids under 16 still have to finish the course, though they’re excused if they fish alongside someone who holds the permit.
Unless you are exempt, you need a valid saltwater fishing license to get the permit. Other Florida rules every shark angler should know:
- When targeting or keeping sharks with live or dead natural bait, from shore or a boat, you must use non-offset, non-stainless-steel circle hooks.
- You must carry a tool that can quickly cut through the leader or the hook.
- Chumming is banned when fishing from the beach, for any species.
- Prohibited species must stay in the water with their gills submerged, and sharks caught from shore must be released without delay.
- Sharks that can legally be kept count toward a combined limit of one shark per day, and only hook-and-line gear is allowed.
FWC also asks shore anglers to stay away from crowded beaches, busy times of day and areas near swimmers.
Which sharks are prohibited, and how do you identify them?
NOAA lists 23 prohibited Atlantic species that must be released with minimal injury and without being removed from the water. The list includes famous names such as the white, whale and basking sharks, both makos and the oceanic whitetip. It also covers coastal sharks anglers often hook, including the sandbar, dusky, silky, sand tiger and bigeye sand tiger.
Rounding out the list are the sixgill, bigeye sixgill and sevengill; the bigeye thresher; the Atlantic angel; the Caribbean reef, Caribbean sharpnose and smalltail; and the bignose, Galapagos, narrowtooth and night sharks.
NOAA’s 2024 shark identification placard offers shortcuts worth memorizing:
- Every ridgeback shark is prohibited except the tiger and smoothhound, which rules out the sandbar, dusky, silky, oceanic whitetip, Galapagos, Caribbean reef, bignose and night.
- All three sand tiger species are off-limits.
- Sharpnose and smalltail sharks look alike, so compare them carefully before keeping anything.
- The placard includes a separate key for non-ridgeback sharks.
When identification is uncertain, NOAA’s motto applies, which Massachusetts’ Division of Marine Fisheries repeats for its anglers: “If you don’t know, let it go.”
State lists can be stricter than federal ones. The lemon shark can be kept under federal rules if it meets the size limit, but Florida prohibits it. Massachusetts makes it illegal to attract a white shark with bait, chum, dyes or decoys.
Surf anglers in particular may hook more protected sharks than keepers. A New Jersey news report found that surfcasters there mostly encounter prohibited species such as sandbar and sand tiger sharks, which makes a clean release the main skill to master.
Protection appears to be working for some species. NOAA ended dusky shark retention in 2001 and recreational sandbar retention in 2009, and the agency’s survey data show both populations improving.
Size and bag limits for sharks you can keep
For sharks that can be kept, NOAA measures fork length in a straight line from the snout to the fork of the tail. Federal recreational limits are:
- Atlantic sharpnose and bonnethead have no minimum size and a limit of one per person per trip.
- Smoothhound sharks have no minimum size and no bag limit.
- Hammerheads must measure at least 78 inches (198 centimeters) fork length.
- Tiger, bull, blacktip, spinner, lemon, nurse, blue, thresher, porbeagle, blacknose and finetooth sharks must measure at least 54 inches (137 centimeters) fork length.
- Hammerheads and the 54-inch group share a combined limit of one shark per vessel per trip.
Required shark fishing gear: circle hooks and cutters
Hooks are the core federal gear rule. Anglers on HMS-permitted vessels fishing for sharks in federal waters must use non-offset, non-stainless-steel circle hooks, according to NOAA’s Amendment 11 compliance guide. Flies and artificial lures are exempt.
The rule applies line by line. Any line meant for sharks must carry circle hooks, and the angler decides which lines those are. A shark caught on any other kind of hook has to be released, unless it was taken on a fly or an artificial lure. NOAA’s compliance guidance also points anglers toward circle hooks and dehooking devices.
Based on the federal and Florida rules, a basic legal kit includes:
- Non-offset, non-stainless-steel circle hooks for any natural-bait line aimed at sharks.
- A dehooking device to take hooks out quickly.
- A cutting tool that can quickly sever the leader or hook, which Florida requires.
- A way to measure fork length accurately before deciding whether a shark can be kept.
- Your federal permit with shark endorsement on the boat, or your state shore permit and license on the beach.
How to release a shark so it survives
The basic rule is to keep prohibited sharks in the water. NOAA requires them to be released with minimal injury and without leaving the water, and Florida adds that the gills must stay submerged. From the beach, release has to happen without delay, so dehooking and cutting tools should be in reach before the shark reaches the shallows.
Skip the photo session. A New Jersey state official cited in the local report discouraged posing for pictures even with sharks that are legal to keep. NOAA’s 2025 compliance guide also directs anglers to the agency’s careful catch-and-release brochure for more detailed handling guidance.
If you see a violation, NOAA’s 24-hour enforcement hotline is (800) 853-1964, and you do not have to give your name.
Shark lists and limits shift as NOAA and the states respond to population data. Make checking NOAA’s limits page and your state’s rules part of your routine before each season, alongside rigging your hooks.
Source: NOAA Fisheries, NOAA Fisheries, NOAA Fisheries
