Local fisherman worried after catching two sharks off Jax Beach Pier

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — A local fisherman says she will not go back into the waters off our coast because of the threat of sharks. This comes after a string of high-profile shark incidents along the East Coast. Scientists say sharks are moving through our area in their search for food.

Local fisherman Rebecca Colon said she's seen her fair share of sharks in local waters.

“I look down, and I was like ‘Wait a minute that’s a tiger shark’, and I cut the line and that was it, and let it go, I don’t mess with that,” Colon said.

Recently, Colon fishing trips to the Jacksonville Beach Pier have turned from fishing stories to shark tales.

“Every time I go I catch a shark,” Colon said.

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Colon recently caught a tiger shark and a hammerhead with her son her son at the pier.

Now she said the sharks are too close for comfort.

“I prohibit my family from going swimming at the beach,” Colon said.

But one expert said Colon shouldn’t be alarmed.

“Nothing really out of the ordinary, we have tiger sharks no reason to stay out of the water,” said Amanda Brown, shark biologist.

Recently, we’ve seen several shark attacks like these in Florida and up the coast.

In California, lifeguards at Seal Beach are using drones to spot sharks.

Locally, shark biologist Amanda Brown is keeping an eye on sharks movements when she’s not monitoring manatees at construction sites in Mayport

“We usually have three to five incidents a year where people get nips, nothing serious, we’ve never had a death in Duval County,” Brown said.

Still Colon and her family won’t be swimming in the ocean anytime soon thanks to what both her pole and camera caught at the Jax Beach Pier.

Lifeguards at Jax Beach said they are not aware of any recent shark sightings.

WJAX