ANNA MARIA -- The city commissioner who wanted to ban shark fishing from local shores abandoned his proposal Thursday night.

"I'm going to drop it from the agenda," Commissioner Duke Miller said during the meeting at which he was scheduled to present his proposal.

Miller referred to a Dec. 29 letter the city's attorney drafted to the mayor that pointed to a Florida statute that says a local government can prohibit fishing for safety reasons -- but only from property the local government owns. The state owns the submerged lands.

There was no discussion by the commissioners.

But several residents and fishermen who had showed up to oppose the ban called out their approval.

A sloppy fisherman prompted Miller's proposal, after a group of beachgoers on Thanksgiving weekend found a shark's head and carcass in the sand near Spruce Avenue.

Miller said earlier this week that he's frequently seen folks fishing for shark along that beach, which is also a popular sunbathing and swimming spot.

"It's dangerous and represents a threat to our residents and visitors swimming nearby," Miller said.

He worried that the sport would draw more sharks to the shores, too.

But Miller's proposal drew fire from anglers who winced at the idea of ending an island pastime. City Commissioner Dale Woodland had also shot down the idea.

People usually fish for sharks at night when the animals feed, not during daytime when beachgoers are soaking up the sun, they said.

They also said the fishing wouldn't necessarily draw more sharks to the area.

"The rationale is wrong," local fisherman Bill Chable said Tuesday.

Florida is the No. 1 place in the nation for shark fishing.

There were three shark attacks in Manatee County from 1882 to 2002, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File.

Volusia County, which had the state high of 157 for the same period, has outlawed chumming or bloodletting within 600 feet of shore.

Chumming and bloodletting involves tossing chopped fish, fish guts, and blood into water to attract sharks or other fish.

But sharks can also be attracted to other bait, said Bob Hueter, director of Mote Marine's Center for Shark Research in Sarasota.