Safe Handling and Release Practices for Sharks on Longline Vessels and Revision to Vessel Monitoring System Requirements in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

NMFS is implementing two Resolutions on sharks and vessel monitoring systems (VMS) adopted by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) at its meeting in August 2023 in Victoria, Canada.

This final rule requires U.S. longline vessels fishing for tuna or tuna-like species in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) that have incidental shark catch to release sharks by leaving them in the water and using a long-handled line clipper to cut the branchline so that less than 1 meter remains on each animal. If this is not possible without compromising crew safety, they are required to cut the line as close to the hook as possible. The new requirements will be found in the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 300.27).

The rule also requires large vessels fishing in the EPO to make manual reports every six hours in the event of a malfunctioning vessel monitoring system (VMS) unit. The new requirements can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 300.26).

The 30-day public comment period on the proposed rule closed on May 28, 2024.
This action is necessary for the United States to satisfy its obligations as a member of the IATTC.