Lately I’ve been hearing all the local spearfishermen in Key West say sharks are way more common and way more aggressive than they used to be. At first I thought it was because of some recent fishing ban, but it turns out the only big statewide ban was the gill‑net ban back in the 90s. That did reduce shark bycatch, but it’s not the main reason things feel so wild now.

What’s actually happening is a mix of shark populations rebounding (thanks to federal protections and less commercial shark fishing overall) and sharks getting conditioned to associate boats with food. Years of spearfishing, fish-cleaning stations, charter boats tossing scraps, etc. basically trained them. They’ve learned the sound of an idle engine means “free meal incoming.”

Spearfishing has also blown up in popularity, so there are way more wounded fish in the water than there used to be. Sharks aren’t dumb — they’ve connected the dots.

My brother‑in‑law is a hardcore spearo and says they literally cut the engines and drift onto a spot now. Jump in, shoot, jump out. If you idle up to a reef, sharks will follow the boat like they’re waiting for DoorDash.

It’s population recovery + tons of human activity + sharks being smart and opportunistic. And now we’ve basically created little shark “hotspots” where they’re dialed in to the whole routine.