At the IATTC Shark Stewards Director David McGuire addressed the forum on the plight of oceanic whitetip sharks and posed the solution offered by the Hawai’i Longline Association and Western and Central Pacific Fishing Commission’s move to swap out wire leaders for monofilament so that captured sharks can bite free, while the target species of swordfish and tuna are still retained.
Read MoreVICTORY! NOAA Bans Deadly Wire Leaders in Hawaiian Fishery
I am in strong support of the new rules prohibiting the use of wire leader within 1 meter of any hook deployed in Hawaiian deep set longline fishery.
Threatened Oceanic whitetip sharks ( Carcharhinus longimanus) and Silky Sharks (Carcharhinus falciformus) are especially impacted by this gear. Under the Endangered species Act, National Marine Fisheries has already committed to zero retention of oceanic whitetip sharks, and tis rule will help achieve that in US waters.
Eliminating this gear will protect sharks, increase safety for fishermen and limit harmful trailing line and ensure a hight survival rate of these threatened sharks.
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