Feds Set to Weaken Protections for Severely Depleted Atlantic Sharks

When you think of sharks - you may think of magnificent ocean creatures that are sleek, fast, and invulnerable. But, sharks are in fact exceptionally vulnerable to fishing because they grow slowly and produce few young, much like humans. Yes, in many areas, particularly our South Atlantic, sharks are the target of fisheries. Sought primarily for their valuable fins but also their meat, it can be a lucrative business. But sharks just can’t recoup quickly enough to keep pace with intense fishing and many shark species are now seriously overfished, requiring decades even centuries in the case of the dusky to recover.

Two shark species - dusky and sandbar - were in such bad shape in 2002, that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) decided to close a key shark fishing area for most of the year to help the populations of these species to rebuild. But, now NMFS has proposed a premature re-opening of this closure to shark fishing for the month of July, equating to a potential increase in fishing effort of 63%. This move would be devastating to the already depleted populations and could well put the dusky shark on a path to extinction.

Please respond to this alert by Monday, November 15 and tell NMFS not to weaken protections for severely depleted sandbar and dusky sharks off the Atlantic Coast. In your response, please also demand that the agency conduct a thorough environmental impact assessment so that decision makers and the public are fully aware of the impacts associated with changes to management measures.

Scientists have determined that it will take 250-400 years for dusky shark populations to rebuild to healthy levels! Sandbar sharks will need about 70 years. Can you image the damage to these shark populations if fishing in their one and only refuge were to resume? The populations may never recover.

Please take action today. Tell NMFS not to step backward. Instead of weakening protections provided by the closure, NMFS should act immediately to strengthen conservation measures for Atlantic sharks. The sharks need more, not less, protection we need to act now before it’s too late.

Sincerely,

Kathleen McGoldrick
Vice President, Constituency and Outreach

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