Jan 30, 2025
“As a lifelong fisherman, I have seen firsthand the impact of shark depredation on our marine ecosystem and the sportfishing community,” said Congressman Wittman (R,VA).
This point of view is endorsed by the sports fishing lobby in a thinly veiled guise to open season on protected shark species like Makos and Great Hammerheads.
Supporting the Health of Aquatic systems through Research, Knowledge, and Enhanced Dialogue (SHARKED) Act, passed the U.S. House of Representatives last year but died in the Senate.
The SHARKED Act states it will establish a task force to work with fisheries management groups to address the problems posed by increased shark depredation – the partial or complete removal of a hooked fish by a shark directly from an angler’s line before the line can be retrieved – and to identify research and funding opportunities for improving the current conditions of shark depredation.
However, industry claims of increased shark depredation on catch are unquantified and based more on emotion, or loss of income due to natural shark behavior. Alarmingly, many of these claims come from the Florida Tarpon industry whose catch overlaps with endangered great hammerhead nursery habitat, and endangered Mako sharks; a protected but popular sports fish along the Atlantic seaboard.
Shark Stewards supports NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries to conduct increased stock assessment of sharks for a more clear determination on shark species population and range, including overlap with the recreational fishing industry, including identifying areas of concern. Add your voice and tell your Senator that you support Science, not an industry led movement to cull sharks.
Please sign and share this petition so it is not fast tracked through the Senate without clear scientific and conservation goals.