[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 203 (Monday, October 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58891-58892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23215]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA936]


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Fishery Review

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Atlantic shark fishery review 
(SHARE) document; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the availability of the draft SHARE document. 
As part of the overall review of the current state of the shark 
fishery, NMFS examined all aspects of commercial and recreational shark 
fisheries conservation and management, shark depredation, and 
additional factors affecting the shark fishery. As a comprehensive 
review of the shark fishery, the SHARE document identifies areas of 
success and concerns in the fishery and identifies potential future 
revisions to regulations and management measures. NMFS anticipates that 
revisions to the regulations and/or management measures would occur via 
future rulemaking and would include appropriate opportunity for public 
comment.

DATES: Written comments must be received by January 3, 2022. NMFS will 
hold one public webinar, at which public comments will be accepted, on 
December 8, 2021. For specific dates and times, see the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of this document may be obtained on the 
internet at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/atlantic-shark-fishery-review-share.
    You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-
2021-0027, via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov, enter NOAA-NMFS-2021-0027 into the search box, 
click the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy DuBeck ([email protected]) or 
Karyl Brewster-Geisz ([email protected]) by email, or by 
phone at (301) 427-8503.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), NMFS is 
responsible for the sustainable management of Atlantic Highly Migratory 
Species (HMS) (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(3)) and must comply with all 
applicable provisions of the Act when implementing conservation and 
management measures for shark stocks and fisheries. Under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, conservation and management measures must prevent 
overfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield 
from each fishery (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(1)). Where a fishery is determined 
to be in or approaching an overfished condition, NMFS must adopt 
conservation and management measures to prevent or end overfishing and 
rebuild the fishery. (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)(10); 1854(e)). In addition, 
NMFS must, among other things, comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Act's 
ten National Standards, including a requirement to use the best 
scientific information available as well as to consider potential 
impacts on residents of different States, efficiency, costs, fishing 
communities, bycatch, and safety at sea (16 U.S.C. 1851 (a)(1-10)). 
Internationally, the International Commission for the Conservation of 
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) has issued recommendations for the conservation 
of shark species caught in association with ICCAT fisheries, while the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna 
and Flora (CITES) has passed measures that place requirements or 
restrictions on the trade of some shark species and shark fins. The 
purpose of the SHARE document is to analyze trends within the 
commercial and recreational shark fisheries to identify main areas of 
success and concerns with conservation and management measures and find 
ways to improve management of the shark fishery.
    Atlantic shark fisheries have been federally managed since 1993. 
Unlike stock assessments, which focus on abundance of stocks and their 
status, SHARE focuses on the overall state of fishery to assist in 
determining next steps for management. NMFS began this review after 
noticing certain trends in the fishery. In the commercial fishery, 
trends include reduced landings, a decrease in active vessels, and an 
increase in shark discards. In the recreational fishery, trends include 
an increase in catch and release rates, an increase in effort by state-
water or shore-based fishermen, and a decrease in targeted pelagic 
shark trips. Through

[[Page 58892]]

the SHARE process, NMFS is exploring different aspects of the Atlantic 
shark fisheries to improve stability and resiliency within the 
fisheries and has identified the following objectives:
     Review the current state of the Atlantic shark fishery;
     Identify areas of success in the fishery;
     Identify areas of concern in the fishery; and
     Identify ways to improve the fishery and potential future 
shark management actions.
    As part of SHARE, NMFS reviewed commercial shark fishery vessel 
permits, trips targeting or retaining sharks, shark landings, dealer 
permits, and markets. These data indicate that catch of available quota 
and participation in the commercial shark fishery has dramatically 
declined from historical levels. In the recreational shark fishery, 
NMFS reviewed the recent permits with shark endorsements, fishing 
effort, survey data, and tournament landings. Shark depredation, which 
occurs when a shark eats or preys upon fish that are caught on fishing 
gear, has been a growing concern in a wide variety of commercial and 
recreational fisheries. While the number of reports of depredation have 
increased, the underlying cause of the increase is uncertain--it could 
be due to an increase in the number of sharks as stocks rebuild; a 
learned behavior by sharks as they recognize motors, fishing 
techniques, or shark feeding locations as a source of food (this 
learned behavior is found in other animals such as marine mammals); an 
increase in the number of people using social media to report the 
depredation; or any combination of the above. Lastly, in the SHARE 
document, NMFS analyzed additional factors beyond the Federal shark 
fishery including other fisheries, state shark fin sale prohibitions, 
and binding international recommendations.
    The SHARE document as a whole provides a comprehensive review of 
the current state of the Atlantic shark fishery, identifies areas of 
success and concern, and identifies regulations and management measures 
for potential future revision. Overall, this review has found that NMFS 
is sustainably managing shark stocks; however, catch and participation 
in the commercial shark fishery is in decline. This decline is 
happening despite fishermen having available quotas for many species, 
and, in most regions, an open season year-round. The review has also 
identified a need in the recreational fishery to improve species 
identification that could improve shark fishery data, thus improving 
management overall. Additionally, it is likely that other fisheries, 
state shark fin sale prohibitions, and binding international 
recommendations have directly and indirectly affected fishing effort 
and landings from 2014 through 2019. Possible changes that could 
increase the productivity of the commercial shark fishery while 
remaining consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the 2006 
Consolidated Atlantic HMS Fishery Management Plan and its amendments 
could include modifications to:
     Vessel permit structure, including shifting incidental 
permits to open-access permits;
     Commercial vessel retention limits for large coastal 
shark, blacknose, and other shark management groups;
     Regional and sub-regional quotas to better match regional 
expectations and opportunities;
     Recreational size and bag limits; and,
     Reporting mechanisms to enhance data collection of 
recreational shark species and shark depredation events.
    NMFS anticipates that revisions to the above management measures 
would occur via future rulemaking to modify HMS regulations, with 
appropriate opportunity for public comment. Regardless of timing, NMFS 
believes changes to the shark fishery are warranted to improve the 
overall health of the fishery and shark stocks.

Public Webinar

    NMFS will consider public comments before finalizing SHARE. 
Comments on the draft SHARE document may be submitted via 
www.regulations.gov, and comments may also be submitted at the public 
hearings. NMFS solicits comments on this draft document by January 3, 
2022. During this period, NMFS will hold one public webinar on December 
8, 2021 (Table 1). Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Guy DuBeck at [email protected] 
or 301-427-8503, at least 7 days prior to the meeting.

               Table 1--Date and Time of Upcoming Webinar
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      Venue             Date             Time           Instructions
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Webinar.........  December 21,     2-4 p.m........  Link: https://
                   2021.                             noaanmfs-
                                                     meets.webex.com/
                                                     noaanmfs-meets/
                                                     j.php?MTID=m62c9fc6
                                                     45e02237b23d3a83349
                                                     d8c1b8. Meeting
                                                     number:
                                                     27634061994.
                                                     Password:
                                                     A26xykq3q3a. Join
                                                     by phone: 1-415-527-
                                                     5035. Access code:
                                                     27634061994.
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    The public is reminded that NMFS expects participants at the public 
webinar to conduct themselves appropriately. At the beginning of the 
webinar, the moderator will explain how the webinar will be conducted 
and how and when participants can provide comments. NMFS 
representative(s) will structure the webinar so that all members of the 
public will be able to comment, if they so choose, regardless of the 
controversial nature of the subject(s). Participants are expected to 
respect the ground rules, and those that do not may be asked to leave 
the webinar.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: October 20, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-23215 Filed 10-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P