Report to Congress: Interactions between Bottlenose Dolphins and Sharks and Commercial, For-Hire, and Private Recreational Fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic

This is a report to Congress on the interactions between bottlenose dolphins and sharks and fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic. The report quantifies the degree to which dolphins and sharks interfere with commercial, charter, and recreational fishing and recommends non-lethal methods to deter dolphins and sharks from interfering with fisheries. Congress requested this report in the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260). The report was informed by consultations with the Marine Mammal Commission, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel, and public comment.