2010 Shark research fishery news

[albiealert]

NMFS Requests Applications for Participation in the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species 2010 Shark Research Fishery

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) pursuant to 50 C.F.R. 635.32 (g) requests·
applications for participation in the 2010 shark research fishery. The shark research fishery
permits would authorize participation in the shark research fishery and the collection of sandbar
and non-sandbar large coastal sharks (LCS) from federal watersin the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of
Mexico, and Caribbean Sea for the purposes of scientific data collection subject to 100 percent
observer coverage. Generally, these permits will be valid through December 31, 2010, unless
otherwise specified, subject to the terms and conditions of individual permits.
NMFS will select approximately 10 qualified applicants to partiCipate in the 2010 shark research fishery based on the temporal and spatial needs of the research objectives, the available quota, and the availability ofthe qualified applicants. Where there are multiple qualified applicants that meet the criteria, permittees will be randomly selected through a lottery system. These selected applicants will be issued shark research fishery permits and will be subject to 100 percent . observer coverage on all shark research fishery trips. A shark research fishery permit will only be valid for the vessel and owner(s), subject to the terms and conditions listed on the permit and thus cannot be transferred to another vessel or owner(s). Shark research fishery permits will only be valid if a NMFS-approved observer is onboard. The shark research fishery permit must be on board the harvesting vessel, must be available when animals are landed, and must be presented for inspection upon request of an authorized officer. ~ The shark research fishery permit may be revoked or modified at any time and does not confer the right to engage in activities beyond those listed on the shark research fishery permit.
The final rule for Amendment 2 to the Consolidated Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) (73FR35778, June 24,2008; corrected at 73 FR 40658, July 15,2008)
established, among other things, a sharkresearch fishery to maintain time series data for stock
assessments and to meet NMFS' research objectives. The commercial vessels selected to
participate in the shark research fishery are the only vessels authorized to land/harvest sandbar sharks subject to the sandbar quota available for each year. The base quota is 87.9 metric tons (mt) dressed weight (dw) per year through December 31, 2012, although this number may be .reduced in the event of overharvests, ifany. The selected vessels would also have access to the
non-sandbar LCS, small coastal shark (SC8), and pelagic shark quotas. Commercial vessels not
participating in the shark res¢arch fishery may only land non-sandbar LCS, SCS, and pelagic
sharks subject to the retention limits and quotas per 50 CFR 635.24 and 635.27, respectively.
In 2009, selected vessels were allowed a trip limit of 45 sandbar shark~ and 33 non-sandbar LCS. The vessels participating in the shark research fishery fished an average of 2 trips per month. The 2010 trip limits and number oftrips per month will depend on the number ofselected ... vessels, available quota,and obje~tives ofthe research fishery. Vessels selected for 2010 inay not all have the same retention limit.
*Printed on Recycled Paper

[voyager35]

I wish they would accurately address the spiny dogfish issue. There are way too many of them around.