The IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group
Shark News 12: November 1998
|
Sharks on the Line: A State-by-State Analysis of
Sharks and Their Fisheries
Merry Camhi, 1998. 160 pp.
Effective management of shark fisheries is complicated by the highly
migratory nature of sharks who simply do not respect political boundaries.
In the US, shark fisheries in federal waters (3-200 miles) of the Atlantic
and Gulf of Mexico are managed by the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) under a federal management plan. However, sharks are also
fished in coastal waters (0-3 miles from shore), where fishery resource
management falls under the jurisdiction of state fishery agencies.
Juveniles of a number of large coastal sharks currently considered
overfished by NMFS (e.g. sandbar Carcharhinus plumbeus, dusky
C. obscurus, and blacktip C. limbatus) use shallow coastal waters as
nursery grounds. Recent stage-based population models suggest that
reducing fishing mortality of juvenile and subadult sharks may
provide the greatest conservation benefit. Therefore, reducing fishing
pressure on sharks in state waters will help these species rebuild.
Shark fisheries and their management vary widely by state. Shark
fishery regulations are particularly important for states that have shark
pupping and nursery grounds (13 states) and/or large shark fisheries
in state waters (e.g. Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana). This National
Audubon Society report reviews commercial and recreational shark
fisheries on a state-by-state basis for the 18 coastal states from Maine
to Texas, and recommends what these states can do to improve the
status of sharks in their waters.
Currently, nine of the 18 states have no shark management, although
three of these recently proposed their first shark regulations. Management
measures, where they exist, include prohibition on landing certain
species, size limits, recreational bag limits, ban on finning, and seasonal
closures corresponding to the closure of federal waters. Although spiny
dogfish Squalus acanthias are officially overfished, they are neither
covered under the federal shark plan nor state regulations.
Failure to implement effective shark management at state level will
undermine shark management and rebuilding at the national level. If
overfished Atlantic sharks are to recover, all coastal states will need to
implement effective and consistent shark fisheries regulations.
For a copy of the report contact:
Merry Camhi, Living Oceans Program,
National Audubon Society, 550 South Bay Avenue, Islip, NY 11751, USA
Email: mcamhi@audubon.org
|
|
|
|
|
