Commercial fisherman, Sara Arnette, has filed a petition to stop the ban of gillnet shark gear that NOA’s Fisheries Service is proposing. And for this the federal authority has invited public comment which closes on Sept 25. Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service, said that the latest stock assessment found that the blacknose shark is depleted and the rate of fishign both directed and incidental is unsustainable.
Balsiger also explained that the proposed measures would help rebuild the stocks of the shark, an important part of the ecosystem in the south Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. NOAA also proposes that only commercial fishermen with a directed permit would be allowed to land blacknose sharks until quota is reached.
NOAA is also proposing to prohiit the landing of all Atlantic sharks with gillnet gear, the primary way blacknose sharks are caught, from south Carolina including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. This has irked many commercial fishermen with incidental permit and one of them is Sara who wrote petition against this ban and satrt signature campaign to fight this injustice.
Link to the petition:
Click here
