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Amendment 14 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan: Shark Quota Management

Overview

Fishing Type
Commercial, Recreational
Action Status
Final Rule
Published
01/24/2023
Point of Contact
Guy DuBeck (301) 427-8503

Summary

NOAA Fisheries established options for implementing management measures to be consistent with the current National Standard 1 policy guidelines for Atlantic sharks in Amendment 14 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan

What is Final Amendment 14?

Amendment 14 establishes a new framework to use to implement acceptable biological catch (ABCs) and annual catch limits (ACLs) for Atlantic shark fisheries. The final management options are below.

Topic

Preferred Option

ABC control rule

Management Option A3

Create a tiered ABC control rule.*

Phase-in ABC control rule

Management Option B2

Allow consideration of phase-in ABC control rules for any modifications in ABC.

ACL development

Management Option C2

Actively manage all sector ACLs (commercial and recreational).

Management Option C5

Establish an ACL for each Atlantic shark management group, without commercial ACL quota linkages.

Carry-over

Management Option D6

Allow carry-over only for underharvest of commercial quotas (landings only) under certain conditions (i.e., the stock is not overfished and not experiencing overfishing).

Multi-year overfishing status determination criteria

Management Option E3

Compare a three-year average of fishing mortality estimates to the overfishing limit to determine overfishing status.

* NOAA Fisheries may phase-in the ABC control rule changes for some shark stocks over time.

There is no final rule or regulatory text associated with this amendment. It does not change any fishery quotas or implement any new HMS fishery management measures. It does not consider any management changes for prohibited shark species. Any operational changes to HMS fishery management measures as a result of Amendment 14 will be considered in future rulemakings, as appropriate.

Bulletins

Draft Amendment 14 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan: Shark Quota Management

NOAA Fisheries is exploring options for implementing management measures to be consistent with the current National Standard 1 policy guidelines for Atlantic sharks in the HMS management unit.
September 23, 2020 -
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Last updated by Office of Sustainable Fisheries on 05/10/2024