The IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group
Shark News 13: July 2001
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Challenges of Atlantic shark management for a viable and sustainable shark fishery
Margo B. Schulze-Haugen and Karyl K. Brewster-Geisz
Atlantic shark management has been, and continues to be, a challenge. Since the National Marine Fisheries Service* (NMFS) established management measures in 1993 for 39 shark species along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts, the management atmosphere has grown increasingly focused on stopping overfishing and rebuilding shark stocks. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the primary domestic fisheries law, was amended in 1996 with 3 new national standards, or requirements, as well as significant revisions of existing national standards. These new national standards focused on reducing bycatch, identifying and protecting essential fish habitat, and protecting human safety at sea. Management measures must comply with numerous laws, such as the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Regulatory Flexibility Act, in addition to the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
One factor contributing to the difficulties in shark management is the availability and reliability of data on shark populations. In fact, lack of sufficient data time series (both in number and length) hampered the establishment of the original fishery management plan (FMP). Since that time, improved data collection has continued and has indicated the need for additional restrictions on harvest levels.
Summary Table: What the Final HMS FMP means to Atlantic shark fishermen
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For instance, based on the results of a 1996 stock assessment, NMFS decreased the 1997 commercial fishery quota for large coastal sharks by 50 percent. After this quota cut, commercial fishermen sued NMFS. In 1998, NMFS conducted a new stock assessment that, again, indicated the need for additional harvest restrictions. As a result of the Magnuson-Stevens Act requirements, and equipped with this new stock assessment, NMFS promulgated new management measures to rebuild Atlantic shark populations (see summary table) as part of a new Highly Migratory Species FMP for Atlantic tunas, swordfish, and sharks (HMS FMP). The final HMS FMP contains substantial analyses of socio-economic impacts, habitat requirements, non-target catches and discards, and the adoption of the precautionary approach. For species for which no new information is available, NMFS implemented several precautionary measures to ensure that these species do not become depleted and that directed fisheries and/or markets do not develop. NMFS estimates that the new shark management measures may have considerable negative social and economic impacts on commercial and recreational fishermen. Commercial and recreational fishermen sued NMFS on the new shark measures contained in the final HMS FMP. The lawsuit with recreational fishermen is ongoing. The lawsuit with the commercial fishermen was consolidated with the 1997 lawsuit.
On June 30, 1999, NMFS received a Court Order from Judge Steven D. Merryday relative to the 1997 and 1999 lawsuits challenging the commercial harvest quotas for Atlantic sharks. This order put many of the new shark management measures that were to go into effect July 1, 1999, on hold except for certain non-quota related measures and all recreational shark measures. In December 2000, this lawsuit was settled. NMFS determined that the settlement agreement was appropriate because it will conserve Atlantic sharks while maintaining a sustainable fishery in the long-term; move the management process for Atlantic sharks forward through quality-controlled scientific assessment and appropriate rulemaking; and promote confidence in the management process and its underlying science.
In addition to other things, the settlement agreement calls for NMFS to maintain the 1997 commercial quotas until the 1998 stock assessment is peer-reviewed (completion was expected in late spring 2001). If the peer-review is negative, NMFS must maintain the 1997 commercial quotas until a new stock assessment is peer-reviewed. Regardless of the results of the peer-review, the settlement agreement also calls for new stock assessments for large and small coastal sharks.
In December 2000, the President signed the Shark Finning Prohibition Act (Public law 106-557). This Act prohibits any person subject to U.S. jurisdiction from engaging in shark finning at sea, possessing fins aboard a fishing vessels without the corresponding carcass, and landing shark fins without a corresponding carcass. NMFS is currently working on implementing the regulations in this Act. Additionally, the Magnuson-Stevens Act is currently undergoing the re-authorization process which may result in additional requirements.
Other factors that continue to hamper Atlantic shark management are the lack of an international forum for scientific evaluation and management of pelagic species, widespread problems with species-specific identification and the subsequent problems confounding species-specific management, and overcapitalization and severe derby fishing conditions in commercial fisheries. However, recent progress has been made on the international front through the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) International Plan of Action for Shark Conservation and Management (IPOA) and the assessment of pelagic shark catch rates at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) Standing Committee on Research and Statistics meeting in May, 1999. In February 2001, NMFS complied voluntarily with the IPOA by finalising its National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks (NPOA). This relies on the current Magnuson-Stevens Act and calls for improved data collection, stock assessments, and outreach for sharks across the United States.
NMFS continues to work toward improvements in data collection and scientific assessments. These actions will assist management, both internationally and domestically, to take the steps necessary to ensure adequate protection for all Atlantic sharks.
For copies of the final HMS FMP and implementing regulations, contact the authors. More information is available on-line at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hmspg.html
*NMFS is the branch of the U.S. Federal government responsible for conservation and management of Atlantic sharks.
Margo B. Schulze-Haugen & Karyl K. Brewster-Geisz
Highly Migratory Species Management Division, F/SF1,
National Marine Fisheries Service/NOAA,
1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
Email: Margo.Schulze-Haugen@noaa.gov
Karyl.Brewster-Geisz@noaa.gov
Editor's note: Shortly before press time, NMFS announced their intention to reopen the Atlantic fishery for large coastal sharks on July 1 to allow the second half of the annual quota to be taken. This fishery was to remain closed if the 1998 large coastal shark assessment (the basis for the 1999 50% quota cut and subsequent lawsuit) was upheld. The scientific peer review of the assessment, anticipated in the spring, was significantly delayed and will not be completed before the fishery reopens, rendering the review process moot in terms of 2001 Atlantic large coastal shark mortality.
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