Natural History of Sharks, Skates, and Rays Conservation & Management MARE 394 Dr. Turner Summer 2008

Fisheries Management Involves regulating when, where, how, and how much people fish to ensure that people will be able to fish in the future NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (also known as NMFS or NOAA Fisheries Service) is the Federal Government agency responsible for fisheries management in the United States

You Down With EEZ Law Of the Sea – established 200-mile-wide Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) – granting coastal nations exclusive rights with respect to natural resources

US EEZ Waters 3 to 200 miles offshore (or 9 to 200 miles offshore in western Florida and Texas)

US EEZ International shortages and disputes over fishing rights were solved the establishment of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), a 200-mile national fishing zone Actually led to overfishing by U.S. domestic fishing fleets

Western Pacific EEZ

Fisheries Management Federal fisheries management in the United States is driven primarily by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) - 1976 Set up a democratic form of fisheries management in which stakeholders of fisheries resources held important roles in their overall management

Magnuson-Stevens Governs the conservation and management of ocean fishing Establishes exclusive U.S. management authority over all fishing within the EEZ Foreign fishing within these areas prohibited unless permitted - only with reciprocity to U.S. fishing vessels Establishes 8 Regional Fishery Management Councils responsible for management plans

Magnuson-Stevens National Standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Act Conservation and management measures shall: (1) Prevent overfishing while achieving optimum yield (2) Be based upon the best scientific information available (3) Manage individual stocks as a unit throughout their range, to the extent practicable; interrelated stocks shall be managed as a unit or in close coordination (4) Not discriminate between residents of different states; any allocation of privileges must be fair and equitable (5) Where practicable, promote efficiency, except that no such measure shall have economic allocation as its sole purpose

Magnuson-Stevens (6) Take into account and allow for variations among and contingencies in fisheries, fishery resources, and catches (7) Minimize costs and avoid duplications, where practicable (8) Take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities to provide for the sustained participation of, and minimize adverse impacts to, such communities (consistent with conservation requirements) (9) Minimize bycatch or mortality from bycatch (10) Promote safety of human life at sea

In Hawai‘i Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council – (WPRFMC) Decision-making body to develop and recommend specific management measures Fishery management plans (FMP), subject to approval and implementation by NOAA Fisheries

Shark Legislation Shark Finning Protection Act – 2002 - amendment to MSA to prohibit and person: 1) aboard a US vessel from finning a shark 2) possessing shark fins aboard a US vessel w/out the carcass 3) landing fins w/out carcass 4) from a foreign vessel w/in US EEZ from landing, possessing, or shipping fins w/out carcass 5) selling or purchasing shark fins taken in volation

Shark Finning Protection Act Aims are to: 1) prevent unsustainable levels of shark catch due to demand for shark fins 2) prevent waste of shark meat Led to localized regulations by states or Regional Fishery Councils

Shark Protection in Hawai‘i Observer program – both swordfish & tuna 100% coverage shallow-setting swordfish 20% coverage deep-setting tuna

Shark Protection in Hawai‘i To most fishermen in Hawai‘i – sharks are a nuisance/not desirable as they: 1) wreck gear 2) are not very marketable – only mako & thresher (meat or fins) 3) risk of injury 4) risk of overfishing 5) negative stigma 6) tainting of catch in hold - urea

Fishing Techniques Purse seine Bottom trawl Gill net Longline

Bycatches and Discards “Do yourself a favor; don't turn around,” – Keep America Beautiful Native American The aim of most fishers is to capture species that have financial or energetic value – target species Can become part of the catch known at incidental catch Target species are often associated with non-target species (organisms not intended catch of that fishery)

All Longlines not Equal

International Regulations Few countries (Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, United States) have fishery management plans for shark fisheries International cooperation and coordination of existing and development of new shark management plans are needed Wide range of shark distributions require cooperation, assessments, and agreements to understand and manage sharks sustainably

International Regulations No international management mechanisms effectively addressing the capture of sharks Number of international bodies: International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) Initiated efforts to encourage member countries to collect information about shark catches

International Regulations International management initiatives: Guided by: Atlantic Tunas Convention Act Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks

International Regulations Ninth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) adopted a Resolution on the Biological and Trade Status of Sharks, requesting that: (1) The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other international fisheries management organizations establish programs on shark species (2) all nations utilizing and trading specimens of shark species cooperate with FAO and other international fisheries management organizations

International Regulations FAO Committee on Fisheries: develop Guidelines for a Plan of Action for the improved conservation and management of sharks International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks (IPOA) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries: encompasses all elasmobranch fisheries (commercial and recreational) - calls on all member nations to implement IPOA through own national plan

Got Sharks? Year #Caught Shark Catch from Hawai‘i Longline Data #Retained Fins only Whole sharks %Retained %Finned 1994 114,656 98,119 15,374 1,163 14.4 13.4 1995 101,292 67,760 32,842 690 33.1 32.4 1996 100,992 57,254 43,109 629 43.3 42.7 1997 85,838 36,496 48,552 790 57.5 56.6 1998 99,919 39,062 60,083 774 60.9 60.1 1999 87,576 29,308 57,286 982 66.5 65.4 2004 74,917 71,857 3,060 4.1

Changing Attitudes

Changing Latitudes