August 11, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced a proposed rule to the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan that would establish a commercial possession limit of eight blacknose sharks per trip. It would apply to federal Atlantic shark limited access permit holders targeting small coastal sharks (SCS) south of 34˚ N. latitude. If approved, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Coastal Sharks Management Board could take action to apply this to state licensed fishermen as well.
In 2016, commercial fisheries for both blacknose sharks and SCS south of 34˚ N. latitude were closed approximately five months after the opening date of May 29, 2016 because the commercial Atlantic blacknose shark landings were projected to have exceeded 80% of the available quota. The blacknose shark and non-blacknose SCS fisheries south of 34˚ N. latitude are quota-linked under current regulations, meaning if landings from either fishery are projected to exceed 80% of the available commercial quota then the both fisheries will close.
As a result of the early closures, the non-blacknose SCS quota was underutilized in 2016. The purpose of the proposed rule is to maximize the utilization of the non-blacknose SCS quota, while minimizing the mortality and discards of blacknose sharks and other small coastal sharks. Under current regulations, there is no commercial retention limit for blacknose sharks. The preferred alternative would establish a commercial retention limit of eight blacknose sharks per trip for all federal Atlantic shark limited access permit holders. The full range of alternatives considered can be found in the Draft Environmental Assessment and/or proposed rule.
The public comment period is open until September 20, 2016. NMFS will hold a public hearing and conference call for the proposed rule. Written comments, identified by “NOAA-NMFS-2016-0095,” may be submitted electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.