Changes to Current Shark Fishing Rules on the Horizon

[Walt Stearns]

Our fight to get Florida’s Lemon Shark moved to Protected Status

Last night we attended one of five Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has scheduled a series of public workshops held this month to receive comments on the management of sharks in State waters.

Attending last night’s meeting, held at the IGFA building in Ft. Lauderdale Florida was Gary Adkison for the Shark Foundation, Steve Stock for the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Dr Gruber (Bimini Shark Lab), Reef Rescue, myself and few dive operation represenatives.

The basis of the meeting is the FWC is seeking feedback on options for amending its shark management rules (68B-44, F.A.C.), with the possibility to change them in full or part to comply with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Coastal Sharks.

I as I understand it, by complying with the ASMFC’ Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Large Atlantic Coastal Species of Sharks a minimum size (measured by fork length – nose to fork of the tail) take limit for lemon, bull, sandbar, dusky, hammerhead, tiger, etc., designed to "achieve conformity" with the rules agreed upon by the ASMFC would be set at 54-inches/137.16 cm (4.5 feet) for all of the aforementioned species.

It was pretty unanimous, by everyone’s ones verbal sentiments in that room, instituting a minimum size limit without taking into account that specie’s natural history, but blanketing it with other, smaller species is a pretty backwards approach in the conservation management of sharks.

As any shark biologist (we had Dr. Gruber with us) will verify, removing the breeding animals from the community, or destroy the habitat required for juvenile development, that fisheries will collapse.

In the case of the Lemon Sharks (Negaprion brevirostris), several of us would like to see moved to protective status, take from 12-15 years to reach sexual maturity. The length of a sexually mature lemon shark is approximately 90-inches/230 cm (7.5 feet), which is a dam sight bigger than 54-inches. By the way, this information solidly substantiated by both Dr. Gruber, ongoing studies of lemon sharks in both Bimini and South Florida for the last 44 years and the ASMFC’s Interstate Fishery Management Panel.

From juvenile to adult, lemon sharks entire life history is a coastal habitat from 1 to 200 feet of water. This makes them highly accessible to both commercial and recreation fishers employing the use of hook and line to nets. As such lemon shark is considered by both the NMFS and the ASMFC as a “highly vulnerable species" of large coastal sharks in US waters.

Based on the data we have been compiling on the South Florida’s Lemon Shark Aggregation study, the “highly vulnerable” status should be taken as a serious understatement.

From a commercial standpoint, Lemons rank # 7 in commercial landings at 62,000 lbs. vs. 1.5 Million pounds taken annually in sandbar shark landings - the number one shark targeted here. And that primary purpose for the harvesting of lemons is for the fins, which on the world market is grade B quality.

The FWC encourages interested persons to participate in the workshops, three of which have already taken place, with two more scheduled for June 24 down in the Florida Keys, with the last one the following night, June 25th, in Punta Gorda, Florida. Both will take from 6-8 p.m. local time. To find out where, go to FWC - Marine Fisheries Advisory Boards and Workgroups

So do we. As mentioned earlier, our goal over the next several months will be to push both the State and the Feds to elevate lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) to a Prohibited Take Group by both Commercial and Recreational fishers. It is a goal we feel that we can achieve with the help of the public at large.

To see the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Coastal Sharks in its entirety - http://www.asmfc.org/speciesDocument...stalSharks.pdf

FWC:
http://www.myfwc.com/docs/RulesRegul...egulations.pdf
http://www.myfwc.com/docs/RulesRegul...esentation.pdf

Other links:
Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation – index
The Shark Foundation - Shark Foundation - Foundation for research and the preservation of sharks
Bimini Shark Lab - Bimini Biological Field Station - shark research & marine biology internships
Shark Safe - The Shark Safe Project
Shark-Free Marinas - SHARK-FREE MARINAS: Reducing worldwide shark mortality.

[LRobbins]

Interesting article. I hope the lemon sharks get the protected status that you are advocating.