1999 



OUR LIVING OCEANS 



Dressing shark catch near 

 Folly Beach, South Carolina. 



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In both commctLKil .ind rccrc.itioii.il fisheries, spe- 

 cies identification problems continue and may only 

 be remedied through extensive public outreach and 

 educational programs. 



Progress 



Considerable progress has been made since the 

 original 1993 Atlantic shark FMI' Since that time 

 (when 98% of commercial landings was reported 

 as "sharks'), mandatory commercial permitting 

 and reporting has increased the level of fishery- 

 dependent species-specific information such that 

 less than 17% of landings are now reported as 

 "sharks. " The National Marine Fisheries Service 

 has also funded an observer program since 1994 

 in the directed shark fishery that has provided ex- 

 tensive information on species and size composi- 

 tion of catches, disposition of catches, fishing ef- 

 fort and distribution, and bycatch in these fisher- 

 ies. Additionally, several fishery-independent nurs- 

 ery area and tagging studies in the Atlantic and 

 Ciulfof Mexico have been expanded and incorpo- 

 rated into stock assessments. Population model- 

 ing on several species has also contributed sub- 

 stantially to stock assessments. 



Progress has also been made in both domestic 

 and international management. In the United 

 States, the National Marine Fisheries Services' 

 Highly Migratory Species Management Division 

 is responsible for developing management mea- 

 sures consistent with the requirements of the 

 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation .uul 

 Management Act. To that end, a Highly Migra- 

 tory Species Advisory Panel was formed and is pre- 

 paring a Highly Migratory Species FMP for At- 

 lantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks, which will 

 amend the original 1993 shark FMP. fhe new 

 FMP will establish rebuilding programs for the 

 overfished large coastal sharks, prevent overfish- 

 ing on the fully fished pelagic and small coastal 

 sharks, and limit access to the commercial shark 

 fishery. Internationally, the United States contin- 

 ues to play a key role in the United Nations Food 

 and Agriculture Organization's Consultation on 

 Shark Conservation and Management. This con- 

 sultation will culminate in a plan of action to guide 

 national, regional, and international science and 

 management under the precautionary approach. 



LITERATURE CITED 



NMFS. 1943. Fishery Man,igenicnt Plan for Sharks of 

 the Atlantic Ocean. National Marine Fisheries Ser- 

 vice, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MI), 

 20910. 273 p. 



NMFS. 1996. Our living oceans. Report (in the status 

 of Ll.S. living marine resources, 199S. L'.S. Depart- 

 ment of Cx)mmerce, NOAA lechnieal Memorandum 

 NMFS-F/SPO-19, 160 p. 



NMFS. 1998. Draft Fishery Management Plan tor At- 

 lantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks. Narion.il Ma- 

 rine Fisheries Service, 1315 Fast- West Highway, Sil- 

 ver Spring, MD, 20910. Volume I, 633 p; Volume 

 2, 520 p. 



SEFSC (Southeast Fisheries Science Center). 1996. 

 Report on the Shark Evaluation Workshop, Miami, 

 Florida, |une 1996. Sustainable Fisheries Division, 

 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami. FF 33149. 8(1 p. 



SEFSC (Southeast Fisheries Science Center). 1998. 

 Report on the Shark Evaluation Workshop, Panama 

 Ciry, Florida, |unc 1996. Sustainable Fisheries Divi- 

 sion, ^5 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FF 33149. 

 109 p. 



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