Catch and Release: End Shark Overfishing…if you don’t know, let it go!

Amendment 5b to the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan: Atlantic Shark Management Measures

NOAA Press Release – The purpose of Amendment 5b to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) is to end overfishing on endangered shark populatins, and rebuild the dusky shark stock. Draft Amendment 5 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP (77 FR 73029) proposed measures were designed to reduce fishing mortality and effort in order to rebuild various overfished Atlantic shark species, including dusky sharks, while ensuring that a limited sustainable shark fishery for certain species could be maintained.

After reviewing all of the comments received on Draft Amendment 5, NMFS concluded that further analyses were needed for dusky shark measures and decided to do so in a separate FMP amendment, EIS, and proposed rule. The FMP amendment for non-dusky shark species (scalloped hammerhead, sandbar, blacknose, and Gulf of Mexico blacktip sharks) included in draft Amendment 5 was renamed Amendment 5a and was developed into a final rule and FEIS. The future FMP amendment for dusky sharks was renamed Amendment 5b.

End overfishing on dusky sharks;
Make any necessary modifications to the rebuilding plan for dusky sharks to ensure that fishing mortality levels on dusky sharks are maintained at or below levels that would result in rebuilding in the timeframe recommended by the assessment update
Clarify ACLs and implement preventative AMs for the prohibited shark species complex

Specifically, based upon the results of the 2016 SEDAR 21 dusky shark assessment update, NMFS aims to achieve a 35 percent mortality reduction relative to 2015 levels, and rebuild the dusky shark stock by the year 2107.

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Wayne Creed

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