NJ mayor warns shark bait near beaches could create a real-life ‘Jaws’

☑️Bay Head's mayor warns that bait used to target sharks creates risks for swimmers

☑️A land shark fishing company disputes that its practice should be called chumming

☑️The DEP says it is working with shore towns on responsible shark fishing.

A Jersey Shore mayor says people dropping bait into the water to target sharks may be inadvertently attracting them closer to beaches, raising concerns about swimmers in a scenario he compared to the movie "Jaws."

Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis told ABC News that anglers are using kayaks and drones to drop bait into the water, a practice he described as “chumming.” Curtis called it “unconscionable” because of the potentially deadly outcome.

"They see a child swimming frantically in the water they could easily mistake that for chum. I do not want to have or see anyone hurt, or worse killed, by a shark who is being lured into our beach," Curtis said. "The only thing that's missing is the music," Curtis said, referring to the classic John Williams score for "Jaws."

In the classic 1975 movie, a shark terrorizes beachgoers in the fictional town of Amity. In reality, warmer water near beaches can bring sharks closer to shore. New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow says in his shore report that ocean temperatures along the Jersey Shore are generally in the 70s.

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DEP says shark fishing methods can pose a danger

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection says it is aware that sharks are being targeted with bait and is working with municipalities most impacted by shore-based shark fishing. The agency said it shares Curtis' concerns about safety.

"These methods of bait deployment have potential to pose a danger to anglers, beachgoers and sharks. Fish and Wildlife staff, in conjunction with the NJ Marine Fisheries Council and industry stakeholders, have prioritized increased outreach and education efforts to ensure safe and responsible shark fishing and handling practices," spokesman Vincent Grassi said.

Neither Curtis nor the DEP named any individuals or companies involved in the practice.

The ABC News report mentioned East Coast Shredderz, which offers what it calls “land based shark fishing charters.” One of the company's owners, Kenny, said it gives people an opportunity to see their first shark from the beach instead of from a boat.

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Shark fishing company disputes the word ‘chumming’

Kenny said East Coast uses bait to attract sharks but disagrees with Curtis' use of the word “chumming” to describe what his company does.

"To use the word 'chumming' doesn't really make any sense for what we do because we drop a singular piece of bait on a singular hook. Chumming is really ground-up fish guts and fish particles, blood and all that type of stuff. That's not what we're doing by any means at all," Kenny said.

Kenny said chumming would require five-gallon buckets of chum to be poured over the side and would be something that might be done while boat fishing.

"You could have the slick behind the boat when you're trolling and whatnot," Kenny said. "You could have the nice blood trail, but for what we do that would be dispersed in no time."

One of East Coast's groups landed a large tiger shark a few weeks ago, a shark that is not commonly seen on the Jersey Shore. The group took pictures and videos before releasing it back into the ocean. Kenny said they don't kill the sharks.

"Now, don't get me wrong. There is some sharks that you're allowed to harvest during certain times of year and whatnot. Personally, we do not do any harvesting of the sharks, but there is people out there that do eat them," Kenny said.

Even the shark fishing company agrees daytime fishing is a concern

East Coast's charters take place at night. Kenny also said he shares the mayor's concerns about swimmer safety when it comes to companies that run daytime charters. Most experienced shark fishers, he said, think the practice should be confined to nighttime.

"All of us dedicated shark fishermen will be the first ones to tell you that we don't condone any of that and we don't want to see any of that happen because it's not right to do that during those times. If you see most of our videos that we post and whatnot, it's typically all during the nighttime, and there's very few to no people at all on the beach when we're doing our fishing," Kenny said.

While sharks have been sighted along the Jersey Shore this summer there have been no reported attacks.

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