Changes proposed for fishing from Naples Pier

Fishing 24/7 in Naples is becoming a problem. On Tuesday, Naples and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida will look at ways to protect pelicans that keep getting hurt by fishing lines and hooks cast off the pier.

The Conservancy recommends that all anglers be required to purchase an individual license directly from the state. The Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission supports this recommendation, but does not favor removing the bulk fishing permit because it would require extra enforcement from police and FWC officials, and it does not have the necessary manpower right now.

Local anglers had advice of their own.

“You could do, like, a course, I think… to teach people how to avoid them,” said Cameron hall, fishing off Naples Pier for the first time. “It’s just so hard, because they see your bait and they take it. I mean, they’ve taken bait right out of my bucket.”

Merely five minutes after being interviewed about the dangers of snagging a pelican, a commotion ensued when Hall hooked a bird on his line. He says he had actually caught a fish and was reeling it in when the bird tried to snatch the fish off the hook. Hall signaled for the Conservancy staff rather than trying to take the bird off the hook himself. They quickly ran down the pier and handled the situation, and the bird is expected to be okay.

“Luckily, it looks like [the Conservancy staffer] got the hook out of its mouth,” Hall said. “It’s got a little injury on its leg, but from what he said, they’re going to cage it and take care of it. But, I mean, I was very surprised he landed within, like, an inch of my arm.”

“Some people get panicked and they’ll cut the line or something else… we don’t want that,” said Ray Erickson with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. “Even if the bird is hooked, no matter how bad it is, we want to be able to render the bird assistance.”

There is a loophole in the Conservancy’s recommendation: On the FWC website, when you go to saltwater fishing and click licenses, you’ll see the saltwater shoreline fishing license.
Any Florida resident can get a license for free that is “valid for saltwater fishing on the shoreline or a structure that is affixed to the shoreline,” which includes the Naples Pier. Even if the bulk permit is removed, it is a state law that this shoreline license remains.