Year: 2019
Project(s):
Relevance
Healthy fisheries are fundamental to the cultural and economic well-being of northern Gulf of Mexico residents, yet overfishing, habitat loss and changing environmental conditions threaten the sustainability of these resources.
Response
In response to requests from Mississippi commercial fishermen, the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant-supported Marine Fisheries Ecology Program analyzed data from a long-term fishery independent shark survey to examine trends in shark distribution and abundance in Mississippi state waters. Then the program consulted with NOAA Fisheries Highly Migratory Species Division and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources to provide technical expertise in the development a state-level fishery for sharks.
Results
As a result of this guidance, changes were made to Title 22, Part 7 of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Regulations to allow commercial harvest of sharks in Mississippi state waters upon completion of a shark identification course. This regulatory change was adopted in 2020.
Recap
The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant-supported Marine Fisheries Ecology Program worked with commercial fishermen and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources to examine the feasibility and sustainability of a state fishery for sharks in Mississippi, which resulted in regulation changes that support a new commercial shark fishery. (2019)