NOAA Fisheries Requests That Fishermen Voluntarily Adopt Shortfin
Mako Shark Measures
In
2017, a new shortfin mako stock
assessment conducted by the International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas’ (ICCAT’s) Standing Committee on Research and Statistics found
the North Atlantic shortfin mako stock to be overfished with overfishing
occurring. As a result of this
assessment, in November 2017, ICCAT adopted Recommendation 17-08 requiring new
management measures for shortfin mako, which the United States must implement
under the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act. For
more details on the stock assessment and recommendation, please refer to the ICCAT website at http://www.iccat.int/.
NOAA
Fisheries requests that Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) permit holders
and tournaments voluntarily adopt the internationally recommended shortfin mako
shark measures to decrease fishing mortality pending an upcoming emergency rulemaking. The
assessment estimated shortfin mako catches would have to be significantly
reduced to prevent further population declines. In 2018, ICCAT will review the catches from
the first six months of 2018 and
decide whether the measures contained in Recommendation 17-08 should be
modified. Without the voluntary measures
suggested here, in addition to any changes in an upcoming emergency rule, the
reported U.S. catch data for the first half of 2018 would reflect catches under
the existing management practices,
and thus not reflect the true potential of the new measures at addressing
overfishing. Any resulting action by
ICCAT based on such incomplete information could disadvantage U.S. fishermen.
Who
is affected?
- Any commercial fisherman with HMS permits who
interacts with shortfin mako sharks.
- Any recreational fisherman who catches or targets
shortfin mako sharks.
- Any tournament that has a prize category for shortfin
mako sharks.
- Any dealer who buys or sells shortfin mako
sharks or products.
What are the measures?
  Figure 1. Diagram of shortfin mako sharks
While these measures
are currently voluntary, NOAA Fisheries is working on an emergency rule to
implement measures in HMS recreational and commercial fisheries, consistent
with Recommendation 17-08, in order to address overfishing. We will solicit public comments on the
emergency measures in addition to an upcoming fishery management plan amendment
in the future. The management measures in the emergency rule or final
amendment may differ from those in the ICCAT recommendation as a result of
additional agency analyses and/or public input, as appropriate.
NOAA Fisheries has
been promoting the live release of shortfin mako sharks since 2013 through the "Release Mako" app, which is a free app for mobile devices that
allows fishermen to share information about releasing North Atlantic
shortfin mako sharks. Download the free Release Mako app.
This notice is
a courtesy to Atlantic HMS fishery participants to help keep you informed about
the fisheries. Official notice of Federal fishery actions is made through
filing such notice with the Office of the Federal Register. For further
information on these voluntary measures, contact the HMS Management Division at
(301) 427-8503 or visit our website.
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