Court upholds cut in U.S. shark fishing quota

Twenty-two species of large coastal sharks are subject to the fisheries service quota

February 27, 1998
Web posted at: 7:14 p.m. EST (0014 GMT)

By Environmental News Network staff

Overfished Atlantic shark populations should be easier to rebuild after a federal court decision on Wendesday that upholds fishing quota cuts set in April 1997 by the U.S. Commerce Department's National Marine Fisheries Service.

U.S. District Court Judge Steve D. Merryday in Tampa, Florida, ruled that shark fishing quota regulations were based on the best scientific data available and appeared reasonable given a congressional mandate to rebuild overfished stocks.

Judge Merryday ordered that the quotas remain in place pending further analysis of economic impacts on fishermen. That study is due on or before May 1.

"The public interest requires maintenance" of the 1997 shark quotas, the judge said, noting the delicate status of Atlantic sharks. "An agency charged with conserving and rebuilding morbidly fished stocks must wait neither for perfect science nor unanimous consent," he said.

Sharks are among the top predators in the marine food chain and play an important role in maintaining balance in the ocean's ecosystem. Unlike other fish species, sharks don't reach sexual maturity until 7 to 12 years of age and they only give birth to a small litter of young -- making them more vulnerable to overfishing than other fish.

Catch rates, an important indicator of population health, declined by 50 to 75 percent for many large coastal shark species from the 1970s to the 1980s. Federal management of the shark fisheries began in 1993. Since that time there has been no evidence that shark populations have increased, so NMFS reduced the large coastal shark quota by 50 percent.

Suit questioned data used in assessment

Shark fishermen, dealers and commercial organizations sued the fisheries service (Southern Offshore Fishing Assoc. v. Daley) based on their allegations of uncertainty in the data used in the assessment and a lack of international management, and the fisheries service's assertion that there would be no significant economic impact. The plaintiffs asked the court to set aside the 1997 large coastal shark quotas and award them costs and attorney fees.

Twenty-two species of large coastal sharks are subject to the fisheries service quota. They include the hammerhead, sandbar and blacktip sharks. Sharks are commercially valuable for their meat, fins cartilage, liver oil, skin and internal organs.

The quota cut is intended to serve as an interim measure to prevent shark stock declines while NMFS develops a long-term approach to the problem. By September 1998, NMFS must develop a management plan to end overfishing and to rebuild large coastal shark stocks in the shortest time possible.

"We will continue to work with fishermen and other interested groups as we develop a rebuilding program that we can all live with, including the sharks," said Dr. Rebecca Lent, chief of the NMFS' Highly Migratory Species Division.

Decision 'ultimately protects shark fishermen'

Last month, NMFS reported that commercial fishermen exceeded the 1997 large coastal quota for sharks by nearly 150 metric tons (more than 11 percent of the annual quota).

Because of a serious inadequacy in the federal shark plan, the 1997 excess was not subtracted from the 1998 large coastal shark quota, thereby threatening shark recovery efforts further, according to the Center for Marine Conservation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection, research, advocacy and public education of marine conservation issues.

"Judge Merryday's decision protects the sharks, but it also ultimately protects the shark fisherman by helping ensure there will be healthy populations of sharks in the future," said CMC President Roger E. McManus.

"This is a victory for sharks and fisheries service management alike," said Terry Garcia, assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy NOAA administrator. "We are pleased that the court upheld the scientific basis for our actions and that the quotas will remain in place."

Copyright 1998, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved

Related sites:

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• Shark Research at University of Florida
• NMFS -- Atlantic Shark Fisheries

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