PROCLAMATION
RE: COMMERCIAL AND RECREATIONAL SHARK HARVEST
- ALL STATE WATERS
Preston
P. Pate, Jr. Director, Division of Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that
effective at 8:00 A.M. Saturday, May 18,
2002, the harvest of sharks taken in
state waters is restricted as
follows:
I. COMMERCIAL HARVEST RESTRICTIONS:
A)
Seasons:
The
possession of sharks taken for commercial purposes may only occur during an
open portion of the seasons established by this proclamation. Open seasons in state waters shall be the
same as open seasons established by the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) for federal waters. These open
seasons are dependent on established quotas. The fishing seasons are defined
herein as:
1) Large
Coastal species group: January 1
until June 30, or closed by proclamation when the quota is
reached.
July 1 until December 31,
or closed by proclamation when the quota is reached.
2) Small
Coastal species group: January 1
until December 31, or closed by proclamation when the quota is reached.
3) Pelagic species group: January 1 until December 31, or
closed by proclamation when the quota is
reached.
B)
Limits:
No
person may possess more than one (1)
shark per vessel per day during an open season taken in internal coastal
waters or in the Atlantic Ocean within three nautical miles of shore by any
gear for commercial purposes.
1) The one shark possession may be made up of a
shark from any of the three following shark categories: Large Coastal, Small
Coastal, and Pelagic (see General Information Section). If NMFS closes any of these categories, then
possession or sale of sharks from that category is prohibited, excluding the
species in (B), 2) below.
2) The shark species, Atlantic sharpnose (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae), smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis), and spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), are exempt from these harvest, size, and season restrictions.
C) The possession of all sharks, except for tiger (Galeocerdo cuvieri), thresher (Alopias vulpinus), bigeye thresher (Alopias superciliosus), shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), and hammerhead species, genus (Sphyrna), greater than 84 inches fork length is prohibited.
D) All sharks not retained must be returned to the water in a manner to ensure the highest likelihood of survival.
E)
All sharks must have head,
tail, and fins intact with the carcass to the point of landing, except
Atlantic sharpnose, and smooth and spiny dogfish, which may have the head and
tail removed but the fins must remain
intact with the carcass to the point of landing.
F) No person may possess shark fins aboard a vessel or land shark fins without possessing the carcass (es) to which the fins belong from any landing of shark.
G) No person may possess aboard a vessel, or land dried shark fins.
II. RECREATIONAL
PURPOSES AND HOOK-AND-LINE POSSESSION LIMITS:
A) The
possession of any shark species, excluding smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis), and spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), is
limited to one (1) shark per vessel per day, for vessels other
than charter and head boat vessels for hire.
B) The
possession limit for charter and head boat vessels, excluding smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis), and spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), is one (1) shark per person per day excluding
captain and crew. The sale of a charter
or head boat vessel possession limit is prohibited. The catch cannot be transferred from individual anglers to the
captain or crew.
C) If
no vessel is involved, the possession limit is one (1) shark per person per
day.
D) All
sharks except Atlantic sharpnose (Rhizoprionodon
terraenovae), smooth dogfish, and spiny dogfish must be a minimum size of 54 inches fork length.
E) The
possession of all sharks, except for tiger (Galeocerdo cuvieri), thresher (Alopias
vulpinus), bigeye thresher (Alopias
superciliosus), shortfin mako (Isurus
oxyrinchus) and hammerhead species, genus (Sphyrna), greater than 84
inches fork length is prohibited.
F) Any
shark retained must have head, tail, and fins intact with the carcass through
the point of landing.
G) All
sharks not retained must be returned to the water in a manner to ensure the
highest likelihood of survival.
III. PROHIBITED SPECIES:
Possession of the
following shark species is prohibited in state waters: basking (Cetorhinus maximus), white (Carcharodon carcharias), sand tiger (Odontaspis taurus) and whale (Rhincodon typus).
IV. GENERAL
INFORMATION
A) This proclamation is issued under the
authority of G.S. 113-182; 113-170.4; 113-170.5; 143B-289.52; and N.C. Marine
Fisheries Rules 15A NCAC 3H .0103 and 3M .0505.
B) It is unlawful to violate the provisions of
any proclamation issued by the Fisheries Director under his delegated authority
per 15A NCAC 3H .0103.
C) The
federal seasons for sharks are based on quotas. Quota information can be obtained by contacting the NMFS Highly
Migratory Species Section at (301) 713-2347or (800) 894-5528.
D) The
shark species categories for management are Large Coastal, Small Coastal, and
Pelagic. The shark species within each
category available for retention in North Carolina waters are as follows:
Pelagic:
Bigeye
thresher (Alopias superciliosus),
Blue (Prionace glauca), Oceanic
whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus),
Porbeagle (Lamna nasus), Shortfin
mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), Thresher (Alopias vulpinus)
E) This
proclamation is intended to protect juvenile and immature sandbar sharks, and
juvenile, immature, and mature dusky sharks by reducing the direct and
incidental harvest (recreational and commercial) of these sharks in state
waters through the establishment of harvest restrictions in the shark fishery. The intent of this proclamation is also to
stop the practice of finning sharks [removing the fins and discarding the
carcass (es)] within state and federal waters. The change made is to add the Atlantic sharpnose shark to the dogfish
as a species that can be landed with the head and tail removed. Fins must remain intact on the carcass.
F) This
proclamation supersedes Proclamation FF-31-2000 dated June 16, 2000.
May 16, 2002
8:00 A.M.
FF-30-2002
/sab