Amendment 6 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan: Future of the Shark Fishery

On August 18, 2015 (80 FR 50074), NOAA Fisheries published the final rule for Amendment 6 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP. The management measures for Amendment 6 included, among other things:

• Modified the allowable LCS retention limit for directed LCS permit holders so that it ranged from zero to a maximum of 55 LCS other than sandbar sharks per trip with a default of 45 LCS other than sandbar sharks per trip;
• Adjusted the sandbar shark research fishery quota;
• Established regional non-blacknose SCS commercial quotas;
• Modified regional quota linkages between blacknose and non-blacknose SCS;
• Removed the upgrading restrictions for shark LAP holders;
• Apportioned the Gulf of Mexico regional commercial quotas for aggregated LCS, blacktip, and hammerhead sharks into western and eastern sub-regional quotas along 88° 00’ W. long.;
• Established a management boundary in the Atlantic region along 34°00’ N. lat. (approximately at Wilmington, North Carolina) for the SCS fishery; and
• Maintained SCS quota linkages south of the 34°00 N. lat. management boundary; and prohibiting the harvest and landings of blacknose sharks north of the 34°00’ N. lat. management boundary.

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