Changes to Current Shark Fishing Rules on the Horizon

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 http://www.myfwc.com/RULESANDREGS/MarineFi...s_Workshops.htm

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/speciesDocuments/coas...astalSharks.pdf

FWC:

http://www.myfwc.com/docs/RulesRegulations...Regulations.pdf

http://www.myfwc.com/docs/RulesRegulations...resentation.pdf

Other links:

Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation – http://www.guyharveyoceanfoundation.org

The Shark Foundation - http://www.shark.ch/

Bimini Shark Lab - http://www6.miami.edu/sharklab/index.html

Shark Safe - http://sharksafe.blogspot.com/

Shark-Free Marinas - http://www.sharkfreemarinas.com/

Do we know of anyone who attended the meeting in Islamorada?

Here are notes from Cheryl Black who attended the Punta Gorda meeting:

The following people attended the workshop:

Bob Heuter, Mote Marine Lab

Jose Castro, Mote Marine Lab

Cheryl Black, Edison State College

Ralph Allen, Angler

Sean Paxton, Boat Captain

Brooks Paxton, Boat Captain

Comments

Ralph Allen

Blacknose sharks are not overfished, and the 54” minimum size takes this species ‘off the

table’ as they do not get that big. Concern about this species comes from the number of individuals that have been included in shrimp trawl by-catch. As shrimp trawling has decreased considerably over the past few years, the number of sharks in the by-catch have also decreased significantly. He also mentioned that data from recreational fishermen does not generate accurate harvest levels because many fishermen can't correctly identify shark species.

Bob Heuter

Florida has historically been a leader in promoting and implementing shark fishing regulations - would like to see the State anticipate what needs to be done to protect sharks rather than waiting until sharks are in trouble.

Concurs with adding the sandbar, silky, and Caribbean sharpnose to the prohibited species list and recommends incuding:

-all hammerhead species (except the bonnethead) – some populations have declined as

much as 90%

-tiger sharks in the Gulf Coast – populations have also plummeted in the last 15 years

Suggested considering slot limits instead of fork limits to determine the size of “keepers” - may provide protection for older juveniles and reproductive females and let fishermen take older individuals that are past their reproductive prime.

Blacktips can be exempted from the 54” rule – they are not overfished, are a favorite species for recreational fishermen.

Maintain the present bag limit regulation.

Consider implementing seasonal closures of pupping areas to protect females and growing neonates.

Prohibit shark KILLING tournaments.

Cheryl Black

Mentioned that developing a consensual Gulf Coast Shark Management Program, while not the responsibility of the FFWCC, is vital for protecting sharks as they move in and out of Florida’s waters to those of neighboring states

Stressed the importance of basing management programs on good, valid scientific data as well as anecdotal data acquired from fishermen

Sean Paxton

Has noted that management issues are becoming very important to recreational fishermen.

Thanks for the heads up on the Punta Gorda meeting Sean. Good information there.

Our campaign is directed at both commercial and recreational on lemons in all State and Federal waters, as this animal is, and will become even more susceptible to over fishing. One member from our Dania meeting group, Mike Newman, address Aaron Podey and Melissa Recks from the FWC with this statement, “The state should ban the use of buoy gear because some commercial shark fishermen with federal permits are sneaking into state waters to catch their quota. He predicted the commercial pressure on sharks would grow as other fisheries - such as grouper and snapper - come under heavier restrictions.” Even he added lemons are too easily targeted, and in need of special compensation.

Mike is a former commercial shark fisherman in Jupiter, FL who has helped us immensely with Dr. Gruber ‘s Jupiter lemon shark aggregation study. And I am glad he is on our side. This guy knows how to find and catch sharks, if other local commercial shark fishermen knew half as much as this guy does, it would game over.

I am still waiting to find out what was the attendance; stance by those attending the Islamorada The input from the public gatherings will be submitted to FWC staff to draft a rule for a September commission meeting in Central Florida, with a final public hearing to be scheduled for December, with any rule changes taking effect in 2010. We are in the process of gearing up for the September meeting with a few preliminary meetings with FWC before then.

Hi Walt,

The ASMFC is also taking public comments by e-mail until 5:00PM EST on June 30, 2009. Probably is a good idea to send comments to them as well. Here's a link to the ASMFC draft addendum and e-mail address to direct comments:

http://www.asmfc.org/ (click on Breaking News and then Available for Public Comment)

E-mail Comments to: comments@asmfc.org

That was me that made the last post @ Punta Gorda by the way!

Thanks,

Mary O'Malley

Update on our fight get Lemon sharks moved to full protective status Florida State Waters by January 2010.

For the past several months the Underwater Journal have been working steadily with Dr. Gruber and members of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Shark Foundation, and the Shark Safe Network to get the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to add Lemon Sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) to a fully protected status in state waters.

Since 2001, I have been highly involved in assisting Dr. Gruber in his research into why large numbers of adult lemon sharks aggregate each winter in the waters of Martin and Northern Palm Beach County waters. In the last few years, Dr. Gruber’s research team have made some startling discoveries, one which is the population of sharks we are seeing arrive each winter is are not only comprised of individuals migrating down from as far away as Virginia, but also coming in from the Florida Keys to the south, and the Little Bahama Banks to the East. Not only has this given us a window into the secret life of these sharks in their adult stage, it also has provided some pretty compelling and somewhat frightening evidence that their over all population is not as large as many have thought, as well as their vulnerability to commercial harvesting.

From a commercial standpoint, Lemon Sharks rank # 7 in commercial landings at 62,000 lbs. a season. But that number is expected to go up as new proposals in both Federal and State fishing regulations will be change in 2010, causing commercial interest to redirect their efforts for lemon and other large sharks in place of what they can not take or find.

Back in September when we met with FWC Commissioners in Central Florida, we presented our case referencing the “Conservation Status and Vulnerability of Lemon Shark Stocks on the East Coast of Florida.” Overall the meeting went very well with FWC adding the information we have, and still continue to give to the official record, the Commissioners have also decided to leave the door open for the possible addition of lemons to the state’s protected species list or closing one or more of the aggregation sites within state waters.

State Agencies, FWC, are required to go through extensive steps to satisfy the Florida Administrative Procedures Act when proposing, amending or deleting rules and regulations, as is the case in point.

We have been corresponding with the FWC, as they seem to be genuinely interested in gathering more facts and want to hear from more Shark Biologists, Experts, Fishermen and Conservationists prior to their December statewide meeting.

In an email from FWC staff, “We (FWC) have started to address your recommendations to 1) review the commercial shark fishery observer and commercial trip ticket data, and 2) sample shark meat or fins for genetics-based identification. We have contacted our trip-ticket database administrator and requested shark landings data in an attempt to determine trends in lemon shark landings, and we have contacted our research staff regarding their ability to collect lemon shark meat and fin samples from fish houses for identification purposes. After staff has researched and discussed these recommendations we will contact and coordinate with you on our findings and recommendations.

Therefore the FWC has just decided to put together two additional “workshops” in October, first in Ft. Myers, second the Dania Beach, FL in order to receive more input prior to putting the issue to a Board vote.

Everyone is invited to attend the workshops. I anticipate that we will be well represented at the workshop on 10/20 at the IGFA and we will be prepared to present our case for why lemons deserve to be added to the protected species list.

Dates for the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) workshop dates for the possible addition of Lemon Sharks to Protective Status will take place at the following:


DATE AND TIME: October 19, 2009, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

PLACE: Joseph P. D’Alessandro Office Complex, 2295 Victoria Ave., Ft. Myers, FL 33901


DATE AND TIME: October 20, 2009, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

PLACE: IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum, 300 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach, FL 33004

GENERAL SUBJECT MATTER TO BE CONSIDERED: The purpose of these workshops is to gather public input regarding a proposal to prohibit the commercial and recreational harvest of lemon sharks in state waters of Florida.

A copy of the agenda may be obtained by contacting: Mark Robson, at 2590 Executive Center Circle East, Suite 201, Tallahassee, Florida 32301, (850) 487-0554.