ASA’s Position on Shark Encounters

Many anglers have observed that interactions with sharks are becoming more frequent and can be frustrating, leading to damage or loss of fish, bait and gear. Interactions occur when sharks eat hooked fish or scavenge for released fish, potentially leading to a depletion of some fish populations and unfortunately, the creation of stricter fishery regulations.

Shark management in the United States is complex, with management occurring at multiple levels of government and through international treaties. While historical overfishing reduced populations of some shark populations in the United States, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act has focused on rebuilding efforts for overfished stocks and maintaining sustainable shark fisheries. Although several species are rebounding, rebuilding for several species will take decades because of their slow growth and reproduction rates, and the harvest of many species is prohibited for conservation purposes or due to Endangered Species Act listing.

As important as protections are for sharks, angler interactions with sharks will only increase as shark populations become healthier. ASA believes that fishery managers need to work with the recreational fishing community on solutions to proactively address shark interactions. We support a variety of methods to protecting sharks across four pillars: Education, Management, Policy and Research.

Education  

Given the apparent increase in the frequency of shark interactions, ASA believes educating anglers on how to avoid and respond to them should be a priority in the short term. Guidance should include information on the following strategies and guidance on when to use them:

• Relocation
• Teaching the best methods for landing a fish quickly.
• How to avoid depredation when releasing fish.
• Use of shark deterrents, such as magnetic technology, that can redirect sharks away from boats.

As we learn more about shark interactions and how to address them, ASA expects educational messaging to evolve. We look forward to engaging with fishery managers and other organizations on developing a public messaging campaign surrounding shark encounter education.

Management

We urge NOAA Fisheries and other fishery managers to consider how shark management measures can impact fisheries and vice versa. NOAA should consider several strategies to manage shark and fish interactions, which could include designing a more holistic management approach that accounts for and balances species interactions, allowing anglers to turn discards into retained fish and allowing anglers to retain fish damaged by sharks.

Harvest increases for shark stocks that are considered healthy and contribute to depredation should also be considered if supported by sound science. However, we caution against expanding the use of indiscriminate commercial fishing gear on sharks, which can create increased bycatch of important recreational fisheries, sea turtles and other protected species.

Policy

We are concerned that shark depredation and scavenging of released fish may be a learned behavior. Shark dive tours, where sharks are attracted to sites by feeding, may teach sharks to associate humans and vessels with food.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) prohibits such “shark feeding” off Hawaii and the western Pacific. We support amending MSA so that this policy is implemented nationwide, ending shark feeding across the nation.

Research

ASA supports ongoing and future research to better understand the occurrence and causes of shark conflicts with fishing vessels. Specific shark research needs include the following:

• The species involved, locations and seasonality of shark interactions.
• Prioritizing shark stock assessments to evaluate harvest opportunities.
• Physiological cues, which may have led sharks to become habituated to people and environmental cues.
• How angler behaviors and regulatory frameworks influence shark interactions.
• Additional techniques and strategies for limiting shark interactions, including the use of deterrents.

Lastly, ASA recognizes that there is a wide array of government and non-government entities that are affected by and should be involved in addressing this challenge.  ASA supports the establishment of a multi-disciplinary task force, including federal and state fishery managers, fishing stakeholders and scientists, to encourage coordination and communication and identify priorities and funding opportunities for research and strategies to address shark interactions. This task force should include a diverse group of anglers and fishing industry participants that are affected by the increase in shark interactions.

ASA looks forward to collaborating with anglers, the fishing industry, fisheries managers and scientists to shape the nation’s future shark policies.

>Read ASA’s Position Statement