By Marine Patrol Segeant Bobby Randazzo

We are so fortunate in the City of Sunny Isles Beach to have a beautifully maintained and picturesque beach. It ranks as one of the most beautiful in the nation. When you see our beach all kinds of water activities come to mind such as water skiing, snorkeling, scuba diving, sun bathing, and of course fishing. South Florida is a fishing Mecca. As a result, tourist and residents alike want to fish on our beach. However, Chapter 26 of the Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Rules prohibits fishing from our beach. The penalty is a fine not to exceed $100.00 dollars or imprisonment in the County Jail not to exceed 30 days or both.  

Let’s take a good hard look at some of the reasons why fishing is prohibited on the beach. First and foremost our beach was designated by the State of Florida as an “Exclusive Swim Zone Only” area. It is marked with special buoys and is prohibited to any vessel traffic. As a State designated swim area, we encourage tourist, residents and children to use the beach.

When a fisherman arrives on our beach, he or she brings a wide arsenal of equipment with them including, hooks, fishing poles, fillet knives, monofilament fishing line and all sorts of bait. He or she uses pinfish, shad, shrimp or pieces of squid to bait their hooks and rare back and cast that bait out in the Ocean. The idea being that the small bait fish will entice bigger fish, such as jacks or mackerel to come into the swimming zone and take their bait. If the jack or mackerel is injured and begins to bleed in the water it attracts the larger more predator fish into the area such as barracuda, tarpon and of course sharks. A predator fish, in a feeding frenzy, does not know the difference between a jack and a person. Aside from the predator fish problem, what if the jack or mackerel, which provide a substantial fight, makes a run along the beach and winds the fishing line and hooks around an unsuspecting bather?

Fisherman and fishing equipment bring a host of other dangers to our beaches. Some of those include old rusty hooks, fishing line, tackle, filet knives, leftover bait and chum. According to our very own Lead Lifeguard, Justin Broman, beachgoers are constantly getting hooks stuck in the bottom of their feet and children often get tangled in the old discarded fishing line. Discarded monofilament fishing line becomes a detriment for our precious marine life too. If discarded, into the water, monofilament line can become wrapped around a whole host of marine life including manatee, dolphin and/or sea turtles. It gets wrapped around their fins, eyes, shells and tails cutting off their blood circulation. It also causes them to become attached to underwater structures, crab traps and pilings, limiting their ability to swim, breathe and feed.

If a pelican or laughing gull becomes tangled in the discarded fishing line, the line becomes a net tangling them in a number of things such as mangrove trees, pilings or roof tops. The monofilament line gets tangled up on the tree limbs and the bird’s tiny feet making it extremely difficult for the birds to escape. According to the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station, approximately 90% of the pelicans they receive at the hospital are injured by fishing line or hooks. 30% of them have the fishing line, hooks or tackle located inside their bodies. Pelicans do not know the difference between live bait fish in the water, and a bait fish attached to a fishing line. They just dive down and try to eat it.

The only designated fishing location in the City of Sunny Isles Beach is under the Sunny Isles Bridge next to Bella Vista Park. There are also a number of places to fish in Haulover, such as under the Haulover Bridge and along the seawall in the north end of Bal Harbour. Haulover has a number of commercial charter fishing boats and several boat captains provide one on one specialty services such as bone fishing or tarpon fishing excursions.

It should be noted that as of August 1, 2009, Florida residents fishing for saltwater fish from the shore need a state fishing license. The annual resident shoreline fishing license costs $9.00. There are some exemptions to the license and they can be found on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website at www.myfwc.com.

Even if you have a current Florida shoreline fishing license, it is still not permissible to fish from our beaches in Sunny Isles Beach.