April 29, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries, working with Hawaiʻi longline fishermen and the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, has taken a big step in protecting threatened oceanic whitetip sharks.
A new regulation, effective May 31, 2022, prohibits the use of wire leaders in the Hawaiʻi deep-set longline fishery in favor of monofilament nylon leaders. This is a change that longline fishermen started on their own in November 2020.
Oceanic whitetip sharks were once one of the most abundant sharks in the ocean. Today, they are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Oceanic whitetips are top predators and play a critical role in the ecosystem by maintaining the populations of species below them in the food chain. In the hunt for a meal, oceanic whitetips are sometimes caught unintentionally (or hooked) in longline fisheries as bycatch—one of the greatest threats to their survival. The switch to nylon leaders is estimated to increase the survival rates of hooked whitetips by more than 30 percent!
“The Hawaiʻi fishing fleet sets the standard for longline tuna fishing, with high levels of observer coverage and strong regulations to limit the effects of the fishery on protected species,” said Michael Tosatto, Regional Administrator, NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office. “These new regulations to protect oceanic whitetip sharks continue this long legacy of responsible fishing in the Pacific Islands region. We hope fishing fleets around the world will adopt these practices.”