Improving Fishing Practices to Promote Shark Bycatch Survivability

As shark bycatch rates in commercial fisheries continue to push some populations towards endangerment, efforts to reduce the impacts of commercial fishing are paramount. One such effort led by CIMAR Science Program Manager for the Fisheries Research and Monitoring Division at PIFSC, Dr. Melanie Hutchinson, recently published a report quantifying the post release survival rates of five species of pelagic shark including the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed oceanic whitetip shark captured in U.S. Pacific longline fisheries (Hutchinson et al., 2021). This study also identified handling and release methods that will improve post release survival rates for discarded sharks and quantified the effects of gear configurations (leader materials) on oceanic whitetip shark mortality rates. The results and shark conservation recommendations from this study were influential to the Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council’s decision to ban wire leaders in U.S. tuna fisheries and implement handling and release method regulations for bycaught sharks. In U.S. longline fisheries, 98% of all sharks are discarded and these new regulations will greatly improve post release survivorship and reduce overall mortality for Pacific pelagic shark populations. These regulatory actions by the U.S. will also be carried forward to the international regional fisheries management organizations for improving conservation and management measures for shark populations.