The US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Service has outlined new measures to rebuild the populations of blacknose sharks, help end overfishing on shortfin mako sharks, and begin management of smooth dogfish.
The public may review the Final Environmental Impact Statement on the measures, which are expected to go into effect this June.
“The new measures would help rebuild the population of blacknose sharks and allow sustainable fishing of other shark species in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea,“ said Eric Schwaab, NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “As top predators, sharks play an important role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem that supports a myriad of other species.”
The new measures would place smooth dogfish under federal management for the first time, beginning in 2012. This open access fishery involves an estimated 223 vessel operators who use gillnets to fish for smooth dogfish in waters from North Carolina to New England. Conservation and management of the species, fished for food and its fins, would allow NOAA to collect data on fishing effort and information on the shark’s life history to better understand its role in a healthy ocean ecosystem.