Introduction

Many times, when the general public thinks of fishery management, controlling commercial fisheries come to mind, but for many fish stocks in the US Atlantic recreational fishing effort must be considered as well; sharks are no exception. In the US Atlantic, the recreational and commercial fisheries are governed by Total-Allowable-Catch (TAC), which is allocated between the two user groups. Whereas there are detailed records for commercial landings to close the fishery when their portion of the total quota is reached, no system exists to rapidly monitor recreational fishing; total annual landings are not known for some time. Additionally, recreational weight quotas are redefined as daily or trip bag (creel) limits, where anglers are allowed to keep so many fish daily (with an assumed average weight), with the intention of keeping the fishery open year-round. Unfortunately, given the amount of angler effort, the current bag limits have allowed this sector to more than double its allowable take since the implementation of the US Atlantic federal shark fishery management plan. Management needs to address the issue of recreational take because as shark stocks recover, recreational catch rates will increase, plus more anglers will enter the fishery, thus increasing the take even more.

Trophy anglers were partly the cause of the decline in US Atlantic stocks of large sharks over the past 20 years.
Photo: © John Stevens

Background

The popularity of recreational shark fishing in the US Atlantic region increased dramatically during the 1970s (Hoff and Musick 1990, NMFS 1993). The fishery was a trophy fishery targeting extremely large sharks, and was prosecuted from both for-hire and private boat platforms. These trophy anglers have declined substantially in number over the past 20 years, being replaced by anglers who target (or incidentally catch) smaller sharks. This shift stems in part from the declining numbers of large sharks, which in turn was caused by the heavy fishing pressure from the trophy anglers (NMFS 1997). The current bulk of the small coastal catches probably occurs from anglers on headboats (for-hire vessels carrying nine or more passengers), whereas large shark catches come from private or charter (for-hire vessels carrying six passengers or less) boats (Fisher and Ditton 1993).

Another factor in this shift from targeting large trophy fish to catching smaller sharks may stem from a changing attitude about shark fishing by the general US public. For example, during the trophy fishing period, it was generally considered that 'a good shark was a dead shark', and anglers who landed large sharks often received substantial positive local media attention. By the end of the 1980s, the populace was embracing a greater conservation ethic, and media attention of a large shark landing began generating negative reactions from the public. More and more anglers have incorporated catch-and-release into their fishing methods (or simply attempted to avoid negative reactions of landing large trophy sharks).

There is little information available on the characteristics of anglers who target or catch sharks. For the Gulf of Mexico, Fisher and Ditton (1993) suggested that tournament anglers who fished for sharks could serve as a proxy for shark fishers in general. That group tended to fish >50 days per year, had nine years of fishing experience, and approximately half fished from a boat less than ten miles from shore. Fisher and Ditton (1993) estimated that 215,000 private boat trips were taken in the Gulf of Mexico in 1989 specifically targeting sharks. According to them, these specialised anglers began shark fishing after several years of saltwater fishing experience was gained, and nearly a third of the anglers indicated that if they could not fish for sharks, there would not be an acceptable substitute.

Assessing catch levels

Evaluating the intensity of recreational catch is difficult because different sources (Anderson 1990; Hoff and Musick 1990; Scott et al. 1996) report different values, even though each author worked with the same database. For example, for 1986, Anderson (1990) noted 10,000 t (metric tons - round weights) were caught, Hoff and Musick (1990) stated 49,691 t were caught and over 12,000 t were killed, but Scott et al. (1996) indicated approximately 6,000 t were caught. However, in general, catches for sharks (excluding dogfish) rose from just over 2,000 t in 1965, to an average that fluctuated around 8,200 t throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, peaked at over 10,000 t in 1986, and subsequently declined during the 1990s to 2,000-2,500 t.

Scott et al. (1996) also provided a breakdown according to the various species categories of the current management strategy. This indicated that the annual recreational catch of large coastals dropped from an average of 3,750 t in the 1980's to about 1,100 t annually in the 1990's, annual pelagic catches dropped from approximately 2,000 t in the 1980's to about 750 t annually in the 1990s, and small coastal catches increased from almost 300 t annually during the 1980's to nearly 500 t annually in the 1990s.

Recreational landings differ by geographic and environmental regions (Table 1). Catches (in numbers of fish) in the north-east US (Maine to Cape Hatteras) are dominated by mako species, thresher species, blue sharks, and a selected group of demersal carcharhinids (primarily sandbar and dusky sharks), whereas catches in the south are dominated by sandbar, blacktip, and Atlantic sharpnose shark. Even though the northeast and mid-Atlantic region has long been considered a strong focal point of recreational shark fishing, the catch north of Cape Hatteras pales in comparison to the heavier catch (and fishing effort) in the south-eastern regions, where the blacktip shark dominates the large coastal catch.

Table 1. Recreational catch of sharks (numbers of fish) in the US Atlantic region for 1994-1995 combined (from Scott et al. 1996).
North-east/ Mid-Atlantic		South-east/ Atlantic	Gulf of Mexico	TOTAL
Sandbar/dusky	38,082	11,464	8,037	57,583
Blacktip	3,032	29,072	101,048	133,152
Other spp.	269	45,149	36,623	82,041
'Requiem'*	3,241	15,722	37,449	56,412
Hammerheads	1,003	24,388	3,322	28,713
Atl. sharpnose	-	24,388	113,453	137,841
Other small coastal	-	17,231	60,290	77,521
Shortfin mako	34,850	687	7	35,544
Other pelagics	2,558	-	-	2,558
Smooth/spiny dogfishes	149,391	14,007	5,942	169,340
Unidentified	82,815	62,481	5,010	150,306
*Includes sharks identified to family or genus only, i.e. 'carcharhinid family' or 'requiem shark'.

Regulating the fishery

Monitoring recreational landings is difficult; controlling them is even more so. Total-allowable-catches (TACs) for the recreational fishery are based on a weight quota which is translated into bag limits that should, in concept, allow recreational fishing to continue throughout the year without exceeding the TAC. The initial bag limits were set at four large coastal/pelagic sharks per boat per trip (day), plus five small coastal sharks per person per trip (day). According to the landings in 1994 and 1995 (Table 2), the recreational fishery generally doubled its large coastal TAC, and met its pelagic TAC. (The 302 t landing in 1994 is very low compared to other years; as noted above, average pelagic shark landings during the early 1990s were about 750 t.)

Table 2. Estimated landings versus the TAC (in metric tons carcass weight) for the first two years after the FMP was implemented (from Scott et al. 1996).
Year	Large Coastal Landings (TAC)			Pelagic Landings (TAC)			Small Coastal Landings	Unknown spp. Landings	Other spp. (non-mgmt)
1994	849	(490)	+73%	302	(980)	-69%	462	121	214
1995	1,064	(490)	+117%	1,384	(980)	+41%	552	44	177
Note: Scott (1996) and NMFS (1997), citing Scott et al. (1996), indicated that approximately 780 t of large coastals were taken annually in 1994 and 1995 by recreational fishers; however if one multiplies the numbers of sharks landed times the average weight for each species as listed in Scott et al. (1996), one derives the values above. No matter which value is used, it greatly exceeds the recreational allocation of 490 t for the timeframe.

To reduce mortality on the large coastal stock, in 1997 NMFS halved the TAC for both recreational and commercial fisheries. The large coastal recreational TAC was lowered from 490 t to 250 t; the pelagic TAC was not altered (NMFS 1997). To achieve this reduction, bag limits were reduced. Whereas the bag limit had been four large coastal/pelagic sharks per boat per trip, and five small coastal sharks per person per day, it was restricted to two sharks of any category (i.e. adding small coastals) per boat per day, plus two Atlantic sharpnose sharks per person per day. Obviously, however, given that the 'old' bag limit was allowing a take that doubled the large-coastal TAC, simply halving the bag limit will still allow excessive takes in this fishery.

Economics of recreational fishing

Economic information on the recreational shark fishing effort in the US Atlantic is limited. Based on the 1977 recreational fishing efforts, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (1980) estimated that charter fishing for sharks in the Gulf of Mexico generated expenditures of roughly $800,000 in charter fees, and approximately $840,000 in non-fee expenditures in Gulf coast communities. As for non-charter shark fishing during the same timeframe, the Council estimated that roughly $1.0 million was spent in coastal communities by shark fishers; this figure did not include economic-base multipliers which potentially could double the magnitude of the values. Total economic impact due to shark fishing in the Gulf of Mexico in 1977 was approximately $3.5 million, which generated approximately $1.0 million in personal income and 113 jobs in coastal communities.

Fisher and Ditton (1993) estimated that the average shark angler spent $197 per fishing trip. Based on an estimate of 215,000 shark fishing trips by recreational fishers in the Gulf of Mexico in 1989, a total of $42 million was spent on shark fishing in the region, with a consumer surplus of nearly $24 million for a total value of $66 million. Based on Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey estimates of the numbers of sharks caught and landed in the Gulf of Mexico for 1989, Fisher and Ditton suggested that the value was approximately $158-$183/shark ($101-$117 equivalent value and $57-$66 consumer surplus).

A word of warning - one must use caution when attempting to use economic numbers to make judgements as to what form of resource utilisation has greater overall 'value'. Whereas recreational expenditures usually represent an angler's total expenses for a fishing trip (including fishing and non-fishing expenditures), the commercial values are usually reported as the ex-vessel selling price of the product. The former would represent total economic benefit to the local community, with the latter representing only economic value to the individual commercial fisher. Ex-vessel value obviously does not include the many expenditures (fishing and non-fishing) by a commercial fisher which also produce economic benefit to the local community. Direct comparisons of numbers that represent such very different economic 'value' are totally inappropriate.

In part, the oversight of the excessive landings may stem from a miscalculation. NMFS (1997) states: "Since implementation of the FMP, approximately 70%-86% of the large coastal recreational quota of 1,230 t has been taken annually...". The large coastal quota wasn't 1,230 t; 1,230 t was the sum of the large coastal and pelagic TACs combined, and the large coastal landings divided by this 'combination TAC' equates to those percentages. In reality, landings had exceeded the large coastal TAC approximately two-fold in both years. Since the bag limit is an aggregate bag limit, including large coastals and pelagics, one could consider the landings and TACs in combination. Even if one sums the large coastal and pelagic landings and compares that to the aggregate 1,230 t TAC, the landings still generally meet or exceed the TAC; especially if the 302 t pelagic landing in 1994 is an underestimate. Obviously, the bag limits did not restrict the fishery to the TAC, thus the current bag limits need additional reductions. Having an appropriate bag limit will become more important as shark stocks rebound and become more abundant, and catches increase. As more recreational anglers re-enter the fishery, the take will also increase.

References

Anderson, E.D. 1990. Estimates of large shark catches in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, 1960-1986. NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS 90:443-454.

Fisher, M.R., and R.B. Ditton. 1993. A social and economic characterization of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico recreational shark fishery. Mar. Fish. Rev. 55(3):21-27.

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. 1980. Draft fishery management plan for the shark and other elasmobranch fishery of the Gulf of Mexico. Tampa, FL. var. pag.

Hoff, T.B., and Musick, J.A. 1990. Western North Atlantic shark fishery management problems and informational requirements. In Elasmobranchs as living resources: advances in the biology, ecology, systematics, and the status of the fisheries (H.L. Pratt Jr., S.H. Gruber, and T. Taniuchi, eds.), p. 117-137. John Wiley and Sons, N.Y.

NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service). 1993. Fishery management plan for sharks of the Atlantic Ocean. var. pag.

NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service). 1997. 1997 Shark Evaluation Annual Report. NOAA, NMFS, Southeast Fish. Sci. Center, Miami, FL. 11pp.

Scott, G.P. 1996. Updated analysis of recent trends in catch rates of some Atlantic sharks. 1996 NMFS Stock Evalution Workshop document SB-III-17: var. pag. NMFS Southeast Fish. Sci. Center, Miami, FL.

Scott, G., P.J. Phares, B. Slater. 1996. Recreational catch, average size and effort information for sharks in US Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico waters. 1996 NMFS Stock Evaluation Workshop document SB-III-5:var. pag. NMFS Southeast Fish. Sci. Center, Miami, FL.

Steve Branstetter, Program Director,
Gulf & S. Atl. Fish. Develop. Fndn., Suite 997, Lincoln Center,
5401 W. Kennedy, Tampa, FL 33609, USA.
Fax 813-286-8261, email: steve.branstetter@worldnet.att.net

The IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group

Shark News 11: July 1998

Management of the US Atlantic recreational shark catch