Saving Seafood

2021 Coastal Survey Catches Nearly 2,500 Atlantic Sharks

July 14, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Sandbar sharks were the most common shark caught during the 2021 Large Coastal Shark Bottom Longline Survey. This survey of large and small coastal sharks was conducted from April 12 to May 28 by scientists from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Apex Predators Program.

The survey is conducted in U.S. waters from Florida to the mid-Atlantic area every two to three years to provide relative abundance indices of coastal shark populations. Working from the contracted commercial longline vessel F/V Eagle Eye II, scientists from the center’s Narragansett Laboratory in Rhode Island and vessel crew caught 2,462 sharks of 11 species. The vessel left Port Royal, South Carolina to begin the survey just south of Fort Pierce, Florida. The survey ended at the North Carolina–Virginia border.

“We had a lot of weather delays this year, but we were still able to complete the majority of stations we cover each survey,” said Cami McCandless, who along with Lisa Natanson were the two scientists on board for the survey. Both are from the center’s Apex Predators Program based at the Narragansett Laboratory. Natanson has been the chief scientist on this survey since its inception in 1996. She retired in 2020 but returned this year to help lead the survey one last time before handing over the reins.

“The survey was designed to sample coastal sharks just prior to their northward migration along the coast,” Natanson said. “The 47-day survey consistently occurs in early to mid-April and ends at the Memorial Day weekend. Since the inception of the survey, there has been an increase in weather days. This has resulted in a decrease in the number of stations although the geographic extent of the survey has remained the same over the years.”

Read the full release here

The 50-Year Shark Search: UNC’s Institute Of Marine Sciences Celebrates Shark Research Anniversary

July 14, 2021 — Two years ago, Jeff Plumlee watched as his fellow crew members reeled a four-foot long blacknose shark onto the research vessel Capricorn. As they prepared to take the shark’s measurements, they saw something unexpected sticking out of her birth canal: a small tail fin.

“It was indicated to everybody on board [that]… okay, that is a baby shark,” said Plumlee. “She is giving birth on board.”

Quickly, the crew unhooked the shark without taking measurements and released her back into the water so she could give birth safely. Plumlee, who is a PhD student at the University of North Carolina’s Institute of Marine Sciences, helped carry the shark to the edge of the boat for release.

“It was really just intimate, being able to witness it and get the animal back in the water, watch her swim away,” Plumlee said.

Plumlee was searching for sharks off North Carolina’s coast as part of the UNC-IMS Longline Shark Survey. The survey is an effort from the Institute of Marine Sciences to record the diversity of sharks visiting the state over time. It began in 1972 under the late Frank Schwartz, a former professor and marine zoologist at the IMS. As scientists set off to record shark species again this summer, the survey is celebrating its 50th year of data collection, making it one of the longest-running shark research programs in the United States.

Read the full story at WUNC

From Jaws to Shark Week: How Much Do You Know About Sharks? On Shark Awareness Day, Learn Why We Need to Protect Them

July 13, 2021 — The following was released by Friend of the Sea:

No other species from the animal kingdom has starred in so many Hollywood films, such as sharks (more than 180, to be precise). From Jaws to Megalodon and Sharknado, most of them picture sharks as brutal creatures. However, over the past decades, it’s humans who have cornered sharks, putting them under the threat of extinction.

Overfishing, shark finning, and bycatch are responsible for killing more than 100 million sharks a year. An alarming figure, especially considering some shark species have a slow reproduction cycle, taking a very long time for them to recover. According to the IUCN Red List, more than 300 shark and ray species are classified as endangered, including the famous white shark, the whale shark, and the hammerhead.

For this reason, on this year’s Shark Awareness Day, Friend of the Sea invites everyone to join the efforts to protect them, starting with getting the facts right.

DIVERSE AND INDISPENSABLE
There are more than 500 species of sharks in the ocean. They come in all sizes and colors. For example, a great white shark can reach up to 6 meters long. However, half of all shark species measure less than one-meter long. Some feed on plankton and tiny fish, while others prefer bigger prey, such as seals or sea lions.

Apex predator sharks play a crucial role in the ecosystem, helping maintain the balance in many ways. But, as much as we like to imagine, they’re not fond of hunting humans. Instead, sharks tend to attack people out of curiosity or because they feel threatened. In 2020, there were 57 confirmed unprovoked attacks worldwide, resulting in 10 deaths, according to an international database.

WHO’S THE PREDATOR?
It’s rather humans who have hunted down shark sin an unsustainable way, bringing the species to a critical point. A recent study showed that oceanic populations of sharks and rays have shrunk by 71%, mainly because of overfishing.

Fisheries target sharks especially for their fins which are considered a delicacy in certain countries. The practice of shark finning is particularly cruel, and though it has been banned in several countries, it persists. It implies cutting fins off live sharks and then throwing them wounded to the ocean, where they die painfully from suffocation, blood loss, or eaten by other predators.

There is also a market for shark meat, with European countries representing the most significant share. In addition to being targeted for their fins and meat, sharks often end up in fishing nets as incidental bycatch.

BE A FRIEND OF THE SHARKS
So, on this 14th of July, instead of playing a shark film, learn with Friend of the Sea how we can protect sharks.

Friend of the Sea, a project from the World Sustainability Organization, promotes fisheries practices responsible with sharks, necessary trade regulations for vulnerable shark species, responsible consumption, and the creation of protected areas.

Additionally, Friend of the Sea has instated several initiatives to support shark conservation efforts, such as:

On Shark Awareness Day, become a friend of the sharks and help us save these magnificent creatures.

The marine ecosystem will thank you.

Scientists seeing an increase in shark sightings off the New England coast

July 13, 2021 — While you’re enjoying the beach, something unexpected could be lurking close by.

“Just on the other side of here, I’ve encountered multiple sharks. [You have?] Yep, you know, eight to ten feet of water. [Like while you’re just out working?] Yep, the last one I encountered was in under eight feet of water off the beach just on the other side,” Capt. Kelly Zimmerman of the Got Stryper Fishing Charter tells us.

Kelly has been a captain for the Got Stryper Fishing Charter out of Chatham, Massachusetts on Cape Cod for six years now.

Early on, people who went fishing with Captain Kelly would catch big striped bass. Not so much now.

“The seal population has increased and the more seals that I see, the less of those big bass are sticking around,” Zimmerman explained.

He’s right. The seal population has increased noticeably, thanks in part to the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

More seals comes more sharks, most notably great white sharks that average about fifteen feet in length.

Read the full story at WFSB

A year after fatal attack, Maine triples number of shark sensors in coastal waters

July 9, 2021 — Almost a year after a woman was fatally attacked by a great white shark while swimming in a cove in Harpswell, the state is nearly tripling the number of acoustic shark detectors in the waters along Maine’s coast.

Following the fatal July 27, 2020, attack, the state Department of Marine Resources deployed eight acoustic receivers in coastal waters, spread out between Wells and Popham Beach, after it had already placed three in Saco Bay off Old Orchard Beach. The receivers, 11 in total, recorded pings from sharks that had been tagged with transmitters by researchers who are collecting data about the presence of sharks along the coast.

The shark attack last summer, which killed Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, of New York City, was only the third fatal shark attack in New England since 1936. There have long been seasonal sightings of large sharks on Maine’s coast, though such sightings are considered uncommon. Holowach’s death remains the first known recorded fatal shark attack in Maine.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Hawai’i Fishermen Promote Gear Changes to Save Sharks; Council Approves

June 24, 2021 — A small change in pelagic longline fishing could make a big difference to one species of sharks — and it has the approval of industry and regulators.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council voted earlier this week to prohibit wire leaders in the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery and require removal of trailing gear for all longline vessels operating under the Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan to improve the post-hooking survivorship of oceanic whitetip sharks.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Fishing council votes to ban wire leaders for Hawaii fishery

June 24, 2021 — The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council is recommending the prohibition of wire leaders for Hawaii’s deep-set longline fishery to protect the oceanic whitetip shark, and now that the U.S. has made the move to protect the species, advocates hope that it will persuade international agencies to do the same.

The council, also known as Wespac, made the decision to ban wire leaders—and replace them with monofilament nylon leaders—during a meeting Tuesday. The move would reduce post-release injury and death to oceanic whitetip sharks, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, that get hooked on longline fishing hooks.

Wespac also recommended that all longline vessels operating under the Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan be required to remove as much trailing gear from caught sharks as possible.

The amendments will be reviewed by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Read the full story from The Honolulu Star-Advertiser at Yahoo! News

A fear of great whites? Shark center aims to show fact vs. fiction

June 11, 2021 — There’s an 18-foot shark hanging in the air, waiting to greet you at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy Shark Center the next time you visit.

“Curly” is a life-sized replica of the largest recorded white shark tagged off Cape Cod. It’s one of many new features added to the Shark Center during a “pretty big renovation” that took place in winter 2020, says center manager Heather Ware.

The center is an arm of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, which has a mission to “support scientific research, improve public safety, and educate the community to inspire white shark conservation.”

But because of COVID-19 concerns, not nearly as many people got to hear that message, or see “Curly” or the rest of the renovation last summer as intended. Typically, the shark center would have had about 17,000 visitors in the summertime. Last year, just over 3,000 came by.

Read the full story at The Providence Journal

US Senate passes Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act

June 9, 2021 — The U.S. Senate has passed the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act (SFSEA), moving a commercial ban on the trade of shark fins and products containing shark fins closer to reality.

The U.S. Senate ended up passing the bill on 8 June as part of a broader legislative package – the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act. That bill will now head down to the U.S. House, where both chambers will negotiate the final form of the package.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Summary of Action Items for the 186th WPRFMC Meeting

June 8, 2021 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

  1. Regulatory Amendment: Gear and Release Requirements to Improve Post-Hooking …..Survivorship of Oceanic Whitetip Sharks in the Longline Fisheries
  2. 2022 US Territorial Bigeye Tuna Catch/Effort Limit & Allocation Specifications
  3. Multi-Year US Territory Longline Bigeye Catch & Allocation Limits
  4. American Samoa Bottomfish Management Unit Species Rebuilding Plan
  5. American Samoa Marine Conservation Plan
  6. Guam Bottomfish Management Unit Species Rebuilding Plan
  7. Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology & FEP Amendments for Updating …..Consistency
  8. Main Hawaiian Island Deep 7 Bottomfish Annual Catch Limits for Fishing Years 2021-23

Click here for a complete PDF version of the 186th Action Item Summary Memo.

The 186th meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will convene June 22-24, 2021, by web conference (WebEx) with host sites at the following locations:

  • Tedi of Samoa Building, Suite 208B, Fagatogo Village, American Samoa
  • Cliff Pointe, 304 W. O’Brien Drive, Hagatña, Guam
  • BRI Building, Suite 205, Kopa Di Oru St. Garapan, Saipan, CNMI

The WebEx link is https://tinyurl.com/186CouncilMtg (if prompted, enter event number: 133 181 5362; password: CM186mtg).

The Council will consider and may take action on the issues summarized below, including any public comments on them. Written public comments on final action items should be received by the Council’s executive director by 5 p.m. (HST), Friday, June 18, 2021, by postal mail, fax or email as indicated below.

Instructions for connecting to the WebEx and providing oral public comments during the meeting will be posted on the Council website at https://www.wpcouncil.org/event/186th-council-virtual-meeting/.

Read the full release here