Florida's Lemon Sharks Need Our Help!

As regulations tighten for other fish, lemons sharks and other large coastal shark species - already in trouble! - are facing increased fishing pressure. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is seeking feedback from the public on options for amending its shark management rules.

Commercial fishermen are gearing up now to target the winter lemon shark aggregations off Florida's coast. It's critical that as many people as possible speak up in support of greater protections for lemon sharks and other highly vulnerable large coastal shark species.

Please join Dr. Samuel Gruber, Walt Stearns, publisher of the Underwater Journal, and others who are concerned about the fate of Florida’s sharks in this effort to save lemon sharks and other highly vulnerable sharks.

Lemon sharks take 12 to 15 years to reach maturity and then only mate once every two years, have long gestation periods and give birth to a small number of young. These slow reproductive characteristics, very high first year mortality destruction of lemon shark nursery habitats, combine to make this species extremely vulnerable.

The lemon shark "aggregations" - large gatherings that take place off the coast of Florida in a small regional area close to shore with a highly predictable time frame, also make them easy targets for fishermen. Satellite tagging studies have proven that the lemon sharks that aggregate off Florida’s coastline have come from all up and down the East Coast of the US and the Bahamas.

Commercial targeting of Florida's lemon shark aggregations can severely deplete or even wipe out lemon sharks populations very quickly and will impact a large geographic area. This is a potential shark conservation disaster!

If at all possible, please attend this meeting and ask the FWC to add lemon sharks to the Prohibited Species List.

The FWC Meeting is will be held on September 10th 8:30 am. at:

Mission Inn
10400 County Road 48
Howey-in-the-Hills, FL
Phone: (352) 324-3101
Fax: (352) 324-2636
Website: http://www.missioninnresort.com/

Contact Shark Safe Network:

sharksafenetwrk@gmail.com

Shark Tournaments are targeting endangered Makos and Threshers - Urge them to go 100% Catch & Release

Here's a list of Shark Fishing Kill tournaments scheduled for the rest of this year on the East Coast. Please contact sponsors, organizers, Chambers of Commerce and local businesses to urge them to change to 100% Catch & Release. Many of them are targeting Makos and Threshers, which are now classified by the IUCN as Vulnerable - High Risk of Global Extinction. And they're just killing them for the fun of it!!

Please contact us for help with letters, brochures, etc. -- maryomalley@mac.com or sharksafe@comcast.net

2009 List of Shark Fishing Tournaments – “Kill Tournaments”

This list is not complete. Please let us know about any kill shark tournaments you hear about in your area.

October:

Destin Rodeo - Shark Saturdays -- Destin, FL -- Every Saturday in October

http://www.thedestinlog.com/news/whether-9546-destin-fishing.html

August:

Newport Monster Shark &Tuna Tournament -- Aug 19 - 23rd, Newport, RI

http://www.bbgfc.com/

16th. ANNUAL STAR ISLAND MAKO & THRESHER TOURNAMENT - Aug 6-8th, Montauk,LI

http://www.montauksportfishing.com/tournaments.html

Downeast Maine Shark Tournament -- Aug 28-29th, Saco, ME

http://www.mainesharktournament.com

Outcast Mega Shark Tournament - Pensacola, FL – Aug 7 – 9th

http://www.outcastfishingandhunting.com/tournaments/#tournament-6

July:

7TH ANNUAL NOREAST MAKO – THRESHER BIG DOG SHOOTOUT - June 1st.-July 31st. - noreast.com

http://74.125.95.132/searchq=cache:H8LsKwRjKQJ:www.noreast.com/discussion/ViewTopic.cfm%3Fpage%3D1%26startrow%3D1%26topic_ID%3D126150+7TH+ANNUAL+NOREAST+MAKO+–+THRESHER+BIG+DOG+SHOOTOUT&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

OAK BLUFFS MONSTER SHARK TOURNAMENT -- July 23 - 25th, Oak Bluffs,MA

http://www.bbgfc.com/

Montauk Boatman’s and Captain’s 31st Annual Charity Shark Tournament - July 10-12th, Montauk,LI

http://www.montauksportfishing.com/tournaments.html

Third of open ocean sharks face extinction

A third of the world’s open water sharks – including the great white and hammerhead – face extinction, according to a major conservation survey.

Species hunted on the high seas are particularly at risk, with more than half in danger of dying out, reported the Shark Specialist Group at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Collapsing shark populations have already severely disrupted at least two coastal marine ecosystems, and could trigger even more severe consequences in the high seas, marine biologists warned at the same time.

The main culprit is overfishing. Sharks are prized for their meat, and in Asia especially for their fins, a prestige food thought to convey health benefits. The survey of 64 species of open water, or pelagic, sharks – the most comprehensive ever done – comes days before an international meeting on high-seas tuna fisheries that could potentially play a role in shark conservation.

For decades, significant numbers of sharks – including blue and mako – have perished as “by-catch” in commercial tuna and swordfish operations.

More recently, the soaring value of shark meat has prompted some of these fisheries to target sharks as a lucrative sideline, said Sonja Forham, Policy Director for the Shark Alliance, and co-author of the study. Sharks are especially vulnerable to overfishing because most species take many years to mature and have relatively few young.

Europe is the fastest growing market for meat from the porbeagle and another species, the spiny dogfish. The demand for shark fins, a traditional Chinese delicacy, has soared along with income levels in China over the last decade. Shark carcasses are often tossed back into the sea by fishermen after the fins are cut off. Despite bans in international waters, this practice – known as “finning” – is largely unregulated, experts say. The loss of sharks from the world’s oceans could have unpredictable impacts, say marine scientists.

“Removing large predators would deprive ecosystems of players that have been around for more than 400 million years,” said Francesco Ferretti, a researcher at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.

The report identified the great hammerhead and scalloped hammerhead sharks, as well as giant devil rays as globally endangered. The smooth hammerhead, great white, basking, and oceanic whitetip sharks are listed as globally vulnerable to extinction, along with two species of makos and three types of threshers.

Some 100 million sharks are caught in commercial and sports fishing every year, and several species have declined by more than 80 percent in the past decade alone, according the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). afp

Shark Safe Supporters Attend FWC Meetings in Dania Beach and Punta Gorda

As you know, one of Shark Safe's current campaigns is to encourage shark tournaments to change to catch-and-release only. Additionally we aim to stop shark fishing that is done solely for the purpose of trophy. We are not alone in this quest, which is good for the sharks. The recent study regarding the likely extinction of shark favorites like the great white and the hammerhead has garnered a lot of attention.

Fortunately the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is responding to the call for tighter management on shark fishing. Their goal was to seek feedback on options for amending its shark management rules that would comply with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Coastal Sharks. Over the past few weeks, workshops were held in different locations around the state. Some Shark Safe members as well as divers, fishermen, and shark scientists attended to give voice to the myriad topics.

Among the items discussed:

1. Overview of the ASMFC Plan Requirements -- Florida must comply with these rules, but may also be more restrictive
2. The ASMFC Plan applies to the Atlantic Coast of Florida -- should the same measures apply on the Gulf Coast?
3. Should Commercial and Recreational fisheries continue to be managed under the same rules?
4. Suggestions for alternative measures for shark management
5. Should FL rules be more restrictive than ASMFC?

And additionally:
1. Adding species to the Prohibited Species List
2. Banning "live mounts" for taxidermy
3. Protect breeding females by instituting maximum size limits to protect breeding female sharks
4. Require all Shark Tournaments to be 100% Catch and Release

In September there will be a draft rule hearing, then in December more public comments will be taken and the Commission will vote on it. Any new rules passed will go into effect in January 2010. In the meantime, please feel free to share your comments and suggestions.

Here are your contacts:

Aaron Podey, Fisheries Management Analyst : Aaron.Podey@MyFWC.com

Melissa Recks, Biological Scientist II: Melissa.Recks@MyFWC.com

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

Draft Addendum I to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Coastal Sharks for Public Comment

Public comment accepted until 5:00 PM EST, June 30, 2009
E-mail Comments to: comments@asmfc.org

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This is a good summary written after the Dania Beach workshop: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/1117433.html.

Additional background info on the FWC meetings: http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090609/BREAKINGNEWS/90609051/1006/NEWS01/Florida+fisherman+could+face+new+shark+fishing+rules

We are definitely excited about the outcome of the workshops and have hope that new rules will result. Stay tuned...