By Ed Bierschenk

VERO BEACH — The city could begin installing “No Shark Fishing” signs at its guarded beaches within the next several days.

The City Council Tuesday directed city staff to install the signs at the city beaches. Although the signs will refer directly to shark fishing, there is actually no fishing allowed at any of the city-owned beaches.

While people can move away from the city-owned beaches and still fish within the city limits, the council Tuesday also gave preliminary approval to an ordinance that would ban blood-baiting or chumming within a half-mile of the shore inside the city limits.

The council is expected to take final action on that ordinance following a public hearing August 17. The ordinance would not prohibit regular hook-and-line fishing that takes place now within the city limits outside the city beaches.

The Indian River County Commission last week rejected a proposed ordinance prohibiting chumming and blood-baiting at beaches under county control.

Al Benkert, president of the Oceanside Business Association, was among those business people in favor of the ban, although some people said there was nothing wrong with fishing for sharks.

The impetus for a lot of the recent activity in the area was a statewide shark tournament that was originally scheduled to run from July 1 until August 9, but has since been delayed.

Tags: beach, No shark fishing, Vero Beach

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