July 17, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has increased the retention limit for the commercial aggregated large coastal shark (LCS) and hammerhead shark management groups (Appendix 1) for directed shark limited access permit holders in the Atlantic region from 3 to 36 LCS (other than sandbar sharks) per vessel per trip effective July 16, 2017. The revised retention limit will remain in effect for the rest of the 2017 fishing season or until NMFS announces another adjustment to the retention limit.
This action is intended to promote equitable fishing opportunities in the region, while allowing quota to be harvested throughout the year. All other retention limits and shark fisheries remain unchanged in the Atlantic region.
As agreed upon by the Commission’s Coastal Sharks Management Board, the Commission will follow NMFS for in-season changes to the commercial retention limit. Therefore, no more than 36 LCS other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip may be retained from the aggregated LCS and hammerhead management groups by a state licensed fishermen effective July 16, 2017.
The Federal Register commercial retention limit notification can be found at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/species/sharks/news/shark_news_2017.html.
Shark landings can be found at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/species/sharks/Landings/index.html.
Please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at (703) 842-0740 or krootes-murdy@asmfc.org if you have questions.
A PDF of the announcement can be found here.