Santa Rosa County Commissioners wrangling with Navarre Beach shark fishing controversy

Local fishermen converged upon the Santa Rosa County Commission meeting chambers this week to resist any effort by the county to limit when and where along the Navarre Beach shoreline they could cast for shark.

Outrage against establishing a shark fishing prohibition for areas designated for swimming between sunrise and sunset from March 1 to Nov. 15 had been chummed up, according to Commission Chairman Colten Wright, by "misinformation from a number of different sources."

Nonetheless, after more than a dozen citizens lined up to speak against proposed regulations, commissioners appear ready to back off taking any steps to regulate any type of fishing on the beach, and indicated their willingness to support a resolution to that effect Thursday at their regular meeting.

"We ain't gonna change nothin.' It's gonna stay like it is," said County Commissioner Ray Eddington, whose commission district includes Navarre Beach.

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The controversy over county consideration of a prohibition against day time shark fishing apparently had its origins in an early morning confrontation between a fisherman and beach officials. Commissioner Kerry Smith had described the fisherman in an email as being disgruntled.

Kyle McNamara stood at Monday afternoon's public forum to identify himself not only as the fisherman who had received Smith's email, but also as the one who had been involved in the confrontation. He contended that when he and the official, later identified as Tourist Development Council President Julie White, met on the beach at about 4 a.m., he was neither disgruntled nor anywhere close to where it had been reported she'd encountered him.

McNamara also said he was packing up at the close of a night of shark fishing when he encountered White and a group of turtle watchers. Several fishermen who stood to speak at the public forum confirmed that successful shark fishing is conducted almost exclusively at night.

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Wright said that Santa Rosa County staff had been working ahead of the onset of the shark fishing controversy to establish some regulations and designate certain areas of Navarre Beach off limits to daytime fishing for that specific species during tourism season.

In a news release, County Administrator DeVann Cook said the regulations were being contemplated due to "an increase of complaints from visitors and residents of multiple shark fishing lines being set up during the day in areas that are popular for swimming."

Wright said shark fishermen had been consulted about the matter, but no specifics had been brought before the board for its consideration, though insinuations had been made of back room dealings.

"It was just spun out of control," he said. "A narrative was created that four Santa Rosa County commissioners wanted to do away with fishing on Navarre Beach, conveniently leaving out words like 'shark' or a time frame."

Social media chatter caught the attention of the county's large fishing community and from each commissioner's accounting, their email inboxes were inundated with mostly angry messages. Commissioner Kerry Smith said he responded to about six residents who approached the issue of swimmers versus fishermen in a seemingly level headed manner, one of those being McNamara.

Two of the board's five members, Wright and Sam Parker, said they were in Orlando at an Association of Counties meeting and had no clue until they checked their emails that a county crisis had erupted.

"I had no idea this was even an issue," Parker said.

Emerging as the protector of fishing rights was Commissioner James Calkins, who told his fellow board members Monday "There's a lot of concern about this issue, and I think the citizens want to know this issue is killed and dead."

Calkins went on to quote Benjamin Franklin as saying "don't sacrifice freedom for safety."

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At the commission's Committee of the Whole meeting, which immediately followed its lengthy public forum discussion, Calkins attempted to make a motion for a vote that would "show citizens we are against any kind of ban on shark fishing or regular fishing."

Calkins called for the county to "stop all action regarding creating designated swimming areas, regulations on shark fishing and all that kind of thing." He said county staff should be instructed to leave things (at the beach) the way they are now and "any other commissioners wanting to take up potential regulations do that themselves and leave staff out of it."

Parker reminded him that the commission had at its last meeting decided to "give each other a head's up" before calling for action on any given item, and requested Calkins bring a motion to the board for consideration at its regular meeting Thursday. Calkins agreed.

"I'm going to support you. I know all the guys are," Parker said.

Smith and Wright, however, who have had public run-ins with Calkins in the past, said they wouldn't necessarily support sweeping legislation of the sort Calkins had proposed Monday.

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"We charged Commissioner Calkins with creating a resolution of sorts for the meeting," Smith said. "He's going to have to put some time and work into it. We'll have to see what happens."

"He doesn't just get to bring something to the commission," said Wright. "If you're going to make a formal motion, come to us with something formal. Bring back something with some teeth to it."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Navarre Beach shark fishing rules under review in Santa Rosa County