Commercial
fishing for large coastal sharks, as defined by Louisiana
rule (L.A.C. 76:VII.357), will remain closed in Louisiana
waters until 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1, 2009.
The Louisiana Wildlife
and Fisheries Commission will consider the potential for modifying
rules for commercial harvest of these species in Louisiana
state waters after the promulgation of rules in adjacent federal
waters. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has closed
the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico until Amendment 2
of the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan is
adopted by NMFS.
Louisiana has a
continuing closed season for harvest of all sharks in state
waters for the months of April through June. This closure
would extend that closure, to allow time for the promulgation
of rules in federal waters adjacent to Louisiana state waters,
and for the commission to consider modification of existing
rules in Louisiana state waters.
During the closed
season, all commercial harvest, possession, purchase, exchange,
barter, trade, sale or attempt to purchase, exchange, barter,
trade or sell large coastal sharks or their fins is prohibited.
The large coastal
shark group is composed of the great hammerhead, scalloped
hammerhead, smooth hammerhead, nurse shark, blacktip shark,
bull shark, lemon shark, sandbar shark, silky shark, spinner
shark and tiger shark.
The small coastal
shark and the pelagic shark seasons will open on July 1. The
small coastal shark group is composed of the Bonnethead shark,
Atlantic sharpnose shark, blacknose shark and finetooth shark.
The pelagic shark group is composed of the porbeagle shark,
shortfin mako, blue shark, oceanic whitetip shark and thresher
shark.
There is no allowable
harvest at any time for all prohibited species, which include
Basking shark, white shark, bigeye sand tiger, sand tiger,
whale shark, smalltooth sawfish, largetooth sawfish, Atlantic
angel shark, Caribbean sharpnose shark, smalltail shark, bignose
shark, Caribbean reef shark, dusky shark, Galapagos shark,
narrowtooth shark, night shark, bigeye sixgill shark, bigeye
thresher shark, longfin mako, sevengill shark and sixgill
shark.
The decision was
made by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary
Robert Barham under the authority given to the Secretary of
the Department by the commission in its rule LAC 76:VII.357.M.2
which allows the secretary to declare a closed season. Secretary
Barham acted upon a request from the NMFS to enact compatible
regulations in Louisiana state waters until the NMFS finalizes
new rules for harvest of large coastal sharks in the federal
waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. It is not
certain when the rules for harvest of large coastal sharks
will be finalized, so additional seasonal closures may be
required to maintain compatible regulations with federal waters
until the rules are established for Amendment 2.
