Basking Sharks Aggregations - North America Northeast Coast

Groups of basking sharks, ranging from as few as 30 to nearly 1,400 animals, have been observed aggregating in waters from Long Island to Nova Scotia.

Individual basking shark sightings are fairly common, but large groups are not, according to NOAA Fisheries.

In a recent study reported in the Journal of Fish Biology, researchers analyzed aggregations of basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) recorded off the northeastern United States coast to learn more about the phenomenon.

During decades of aerial surveys for right whales, large basking shark aggregation events were recorded and photographed on several occasions.

Comparing this information with that collected in a number of satellite and oceanographic databases and by the NEFSC’s ecosystem monitoring (EcoMon) cruises in the same region, researchers obtained more insight into this behavior.

The researchers found the aggregations occurred in summer and fall when sea surface temperatures ranged between 55 and 75 degrees F (13 to 24 degrees C). In the largest event, data were available to indicate there was a high concentration of zooplankton prey present.

Ten large aggregations of basking sharks were identified between June 1980 and November 2013, ranging from 36 to at least 1,398 animals within an 11.5-mile (18.5-kilometer) radius of the central point in the aggregation.

Data on breaching, circular swimming movements, and/or apparent feeding behavior were recorded in seven of the ten largest aggregations.

The largest aggregation ever recorded on the aerial survey was at least 1,398 animals photographed on November 5, 2013 in southern New England waters.

Given the apparent presence of juveniles and an abundance of zooplankton on the continental shelf at the time of the event, the study authors say it is likely foraging played a role in the formation of that aggregation.

The study also suggests that the animals may be aggregating to draft off each other for more efficient feeding given the immense drag from having their mouths open.

Basking Shark Facts

Basking sharks are highly migratory, slow-moving fish. They are often sighted close to the surface with their large mouths open to filter zooplankton from seawater.

Reaching 32 feet or more in length and weighing more than five tons, the basking shark is the world's second largest fish. The whale shark, a close relative, is larger.

Basking sharks, whale sharks, and megamouth sharks are the only shark species that feed on plankton.

For more information, visit:

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/basking-sharks-gather-large-groups-northeast-us-coast

source: NOAA Fish News

South Carolina Shark Tagging

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) biologists recently deployed a satellite transmitter on a 12-foot, 4-inch tiger shark in Port Royal Sound.

The large female, nicknamed "Harry-Ette" is the latest tiger shark to be tagged by a collaborative project that is studying the importance of South Carolina waters to tiger sharks.

Efforts to better understand tiger sharks in the Atlantic Ocean have been complicated by a lack of data. Until recently, researchers knew little about the tiger shark’s life history, when and where they migrate, and how they use different habitats, especially the coastal waters of the southeastern United States.

Harry-Ette is the twelfth tiger shark fitted with a satellite transmitter off the South Carolina coast in a joint effort between DNR, nonprofit research organization OCEARCH, the College of Charleston, and Captain Chip Michalove of Outcast Charters in Hilton Head.

The project crew has tagged 27 tiger sharks in total, although only twelve have been fitted with satellite tags. All 27 sharks were tagged in Port Royal and St. Helena Sounds.

The recent capture of Harry-Ette as well as another mature female tiger, both with fresh mating wounds, leads scientists to believe that Port Royal Sound and South Carolina nearshore waters are likely important to the reproductive cycles of tiger sharks.

Shark enthusiasts can track tiger sharks tagged in South Carolina by accessing OCEARCH's near-real time, free online Global Shark Tracker or by downloading the Global Shark Tracker App available for Apple and Android platforms.

source: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

Atlantic Coast Shark Populations Survey

Scientists captured and tagged more than 2,800 sharks along the East Coast during the 2015 Coastal Shark Survey.

In all, 13 shark species were among the 16 species of fish caught. The three non-shark species were remora, cobia and gold spot eel. The largest shark captured on the 2015 survey was a tiger shark, 12.5 feet in fork length, off North Carolina.

The survey, which began in 1986, is conducted every two to three years.  It covers coastal waters from Florida, where coastal shark species concentrate during the winter and spring, north to Delaware, where many shark species migrate during spring and summer as more northerly waters warm. Following this migratory route, at this time of year, makes it easier to survey the whole population.

This year, the survey area ranged from just south of Ft. Pierce, Florida to North Carolina. As in 2012, poor weather and time prevented sampling further north. 

The surveys are conducted in the 5-40 fathom (30 to 240 feet) depth zone with most sampling between 11-20 fathoms (66 to 120 feet deep) and use commercial Florida-style bottom longline fishing methods to standardize survey results. This method uses a long, or main, line with baited shark hooks spaced at regular intervals along the line.

Most (2,179, or 77 percent) of the sharks captured were tagged and released, 434 (15.3 percent) were brought aboard, and 222 (7.8 percent) were released untagged or lost.

Researchers participating in the 2015 survey included members from the NEFSC's Narragansett and Woods Hole Laboratories, the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Florida Atlantic University, and the University of New Haven.

source: NOAA Fisheries

NOAA to Review 10 Fish Species for ESA Listing

NOAA Fisheries recently found that a petition to list 10 species of skates and rays and 15 species of bony fishes under the Endangered Species Act presented sufficient evidence to warrant status reviews for 10 species.

On July 15, 2013, NOAA received a petition from the WildEarth Guardians to list 81 marine species as threatened or endangered under the ESA and to designate critical habitat under the ESA. Included in the petition were 25 fish species (10 skates and rays and 15 bony fishes).

Status reviews will include the following species

skates and rays:

Bathyraja griseocauda  (graytail skate)
Raja undulata  (undulate ray)
Rhinobatos cemiculus (blackchin guitarfish)
R. horkelii  (Brazilian guitarfish)
R. rhinobatos (common guitarfish/violinfish)

bony fishes:

Latimeria chalumnae (coelacanth/gombessa)
Mycteroperca fusca (comb grouper/island grouper)
Mycteroperca jordani (Gulf grouper)
Pterapogon kauderni (Banggai cardinalfish)
Scarus trispinosus (greenback parrotfish)

NOAA will conduct a status review of the 10 species of skates and rays and bony fishes to determine if the petitioned action is warranted. Stakeholders can submit scientific and commercial evidence pertaining to the 10 fish species by April 25.

source: NOAA FishNews, Federal Register

NOAA Dusky Shark ESA Status Review

NOAA Fisheries is initiating a formal status review of the Northwest Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico population of dusky sharks under the Endangered Species Act and is seeking scientific information to assist the review.

During a recent review of two petitions to list the dusky shark under the Endangered Species Act, NOAA Fisheries determined that listings may be warranted.

The Endangered Species Act requires the agency to make a determination of whether listing the Northwest Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico population of dusky shark as endangered or threatened is warranted within 12 months of the receipt of the first petition (November 14, 2013).

For more information, visit the NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources Website at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/

source: NOAA Fisheries

CITES Protection - Sharks and Manta Rays

During the most recent Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Conference of the Parties meeting in Bangkok, countries agreed to increase protection for five commercially-exploited species of sharks and manta rays.

In March, CITES member nations, referred to as “Parties”, voted in support of listing the oceanic whitetip shark, the porbeagle shark, scalloped, smooth, and great hammerhead sharks, and manta rays in CITES Appendix II. The action calls for increased protection, but still allows legal and sustainable trade.

Support of the listings came from a coalition of countries including Brazil, Colombia, the European Union, Costa Rica, Honduras, Ecuador, Mexico, Comoros, Egypt, and the United States. Additional support came from Senegal and Sierra Leone.

Due to their low reproduction rates and high economic value, populations of the newly listed shark species have suffered severe declines. Porbeagle sharks also face pressures due to demand for their meat, while manta rays are over-harvested for their gill plates.

Sharks are overfished in many parts of the world due to a demand for fins. Shark fins are commonly exported to Asia, where they are a main ingredient in shark fin soup.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement initiated in 1973. The convention is currently signed by 178 countries regulating global trade in imperiled wild animals and plants including their parts and products.

A meeting of the Conference of the Parties is held every 2-3 years to review, discuss, and negotiate changes in the management and control of trade in the various wildlife species covered by the agreement.

source: NOAA Fisheries

NOAA To Track Marine Mammals

For the first time, data from electronic tags attached to marine animals will be incorporated into the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®), a NOAA-led national partnership committed to enhance our ability to collect, deliver, and use ocean information.

According to NOAA, the data will help scientists better understand how marine animals move with the flow of tides and currents and provide insight into how they may alter their behavior or migration patterns in response to climate change.

“The vastness of the ocean limits our ability to observe,” said Barbara Block, Prothro professor of marine sciences at Stanford University. “This technology is leading to profound advancements in our understanding of these animals and how they interact with the ocean. This knowledge translates to a better understanding of our planet and emerging issues on climate change.”

Scientists began widely using marine animal tagging technology in the 1990’s on tuna, sharks, sea turtles, seals, whales, salmon, squid and crustaceans, among others. Sensors track the animals over long distances for multiple years, collecting valuable data below the surface from remote and difficult to reach environments where conventional oceanographic sensing techniques are technically or economically unfeasible.

However, data are collected in different ways for varying applications. A major challenge is to better synchronize the many different tagging programs and improve data sharing to the broader ocean science community.

Churchill Grimes, Ph.D., director of NOAA Fisheries’ Santa Cruz Laboratory and Barbara Block, Prothro professor of marine sciences at Stanford University joined IOOS and other federal, state and academic scientists recently in Santa Cruz, Calif., to establish a framework for integrating biological observations to the IOOS, which is expected to begin as early as this fall.

NOAA defines IOOS as a federal, regional and private-sector partnership working to enhance the ability to collect, deliver and use ocean information. IOOS delivers the data and information needed to increase understanding of oceans and coasts, so that decision-makers can act to improve safety, enhance the economy and protect the environment.

For more information, visit:

U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System: http://www.ioos.gov

Highly Migratory Species Meeting in Annapolis MD

NMFS will be holding a Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Advisory Panel Meeting to discuss alternatives for the conservation and management of Atlantic tunas, swordfish, billfish, and sharks. The meeting will be held in Silver Spring, Maryland on April 5-7, 2011.

For further information please see the attached notices or visit the HMS Management Division's webpage at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/Advisory%20Panels/Advisory_Panel.htm

Congress Passes Shark Conservation Act

In December, 2010, The United States House of Representatives approved the Senate version of the Shark Conservation Act, clearing the final hurdle to ending shark finning in U.S. waters.

In response to the decision, Oceana’s federal policy director Beth Lowell remarked:

"The Shark Conservation Act has finally passed the finish line. Oceana applauds Congress and its ocean heroes for passing such an important piece of legislation. Sharks now have a reason to celebrate this holiday season.

Our oceans have reached a tipping point and sharks are essential to keeping them healthy for years to come. Today is a big step forward for shark conservation, both in the U.S. and internationally.

Oceana is happy to see the Shark Conservation Act finally being sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law."

Controversial Film Raises Questions About Shark Data

An upcoming documentary, The Shark Con, asks if sharks are overfished, or are the numbers exaggerated for fundraising?

According to the filmmaker, the conservation movement has rallied to discredit commercial fishermen by claiming that they have destroyed the oceans by fishing them to the point of extinction.

“They chose the shark because with sharks, they have leverage into virtually every fishery... My understanding of the shark academics is that marine  environmentalists and government management agencies, have used the poster child approach as a motivation for domestic and international control of the oceanic resources as it has unfolded historically to date.”  - Russell Hudson President Directed Shark Fisheries, INC.

“Hopefully "The Shark Con" will inspire the researchers and regulatory agencies to get the stats right...”  - James Swan ESPN

The Shark Con takes viewers on a roller coaster ride into the big business of sharks, revealing the controversial truth about the industry, all the while trying to answer the central question…Are sharks really overfished?  Or is this just an elaborate con?

For more information visit:  www.thesharkcon.com