The 2019 quotas, adjusted as appropriate to account for over- and underharvests, are summarized below and organized by management group. Adjustments based on over- and underharvests depend on stock status. The final rule uses landings data received as of October 15, 2018. All dealer reports that are received after the date of the final rule will be used to adjust the 2020 quotas, as appropriate.
Who is affected?
This action could affect:
- Any commercial shark fishermen in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.
- Any dealers who buy or sell sharks or shark products in these areas.
What will it do?
The final 2019 adjusted quotas, retention limits, and opening dates are:
|
Region or Sub-region |
Management Group |
2019 Final Adjusted Quota* |
Quota Linkages |
Commercial Retention Limits for Directed Shark Limited Access Permit Holders (in-season adjustments are possible) |
Season Opening Dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Western Gulf of Mexico |
Blacktip Sharks |
255.8 metric ton (mt) dressed weight (dw) (563,799 lb dw)** |
Not Linked |
45 large coastal sharks other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip |
January 1, 2019 |
|
Aggregated Large Coastal Sharks |
72.0 mt dw (158,724 lb dw) |
Linked |
|
||
|
Hammerhead Sharks |
11.9 mt dw (26,301 lb dw) |
|
|||
|
Eastern Gulf of Mexico |
Blacktip Sharks |
27.7 mt dw (61,256 lb dw)** |
Not Linked |
45 large coastal sharks other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip |
January 1, 2019 |
|
Aggregated Large Coastal Sharks |
85.5 mt dw (188,593 lb dw) |
Linked |
|
||
|
Hammerhead Sharks |
13.4 mt dw (29,421 lb dw) |
|
|||
|
Gulf of Mexico |
Non-Blacknose Small Coastal Sharks |
112.6 mt dw (248,215 lb dw) |
Not Linked |
N/A |
January 1, 2019 |
|
Smoothhound Sharks |
504.6 mt dw (1,112,441 lb dw)** |
Not Linked |
N/A |
||
|
Atlantic |
Aggregated Large Coastal Sharks |
168.9 mt dw (372,552 lb dw) |
Linked |
25 large coastal sharks other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip
If quota is landed too quickly (e.g. if approximately 20 percent of quota is caught at the beginning of the year), NMFS anticipates considering an inseason reduction (e.g. to 3 or fewer large coastal sharks other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip), and later considering an inseason increase (e.g., to 36 large coastal sharks other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip) around July 15, 2019 |
January 1, 2019
|
|
Hammerhead Sharks |
27.1 mt dw (59,736 lb dw) |
|
|||
|
Non-Blacknose Small Coastal Sharks |
264.1 mt dw (582,333 lb dw) |
Linked (South of 34° N. lat. only) |
N/A |
January 1, 2019 |
|
|
Blacknose Sharks (South of 34° N. lat. only) |
17.2 mt dw (37,921 lb dw) |
8 Blacknose sharks per vessel per trip (applies to directed and incidental permit holders) |
|
||
|
Smoothhound Sharks |
1,802.6 mt dw (3,973,902 lb dw)** |
Not Linked |
N/A |
||
|
No regional quotas |
Non-Sandbar LCS Research |
50.0 mt dw (110,230 lb dw) |
Linked |
N/A |
January 1, 2019 |
|
Sandbar Shark Research |
90.7 mt dw (199,943 lb dw) |
|
|||
|
Blue Sharks |
273.0 mt dw (601,856 lb dw) |
Not Linked |
N/A |
||
|
Porbeagle Sharks |
1.7 mt dw (3,748 lb dw) |
|
|||
|
Pelagic Sharks Other Than Porbeagle or Blue |
488.0 mt dw (1,075,856 lb dw) |
|
*1 mt dw = 2,204.6 lb dw
**Baseline quota adjusted based on over- or underharvest in 2018.
