Under pressure from fishing industry claims that sharks have become ‘overpopulated’, NOAA Fisheries has proposed multiplying the daily limit of Atlantic sharks recreational fishermen can kill from one up to 3-5, depending on the species. This button will take you to submit an official public comment against this senseless slaughter. The best thing you can do is write your own comment, but you can use the template below to get started.

Please do not increase catch limits for any shark species. I strongly oppose flexible recreational retention limits and urge NOAA to support alternative D1, to maintain existing limits for Atlantic sharks. More than half of the populations proposed for potential catch increases have never been assessed by NOAA. More than two thirds of shark species permitted for take in the Atlantic are internationally recognized threatened species on the IUCN redlist.

Furthermore, I oppose increasing commercial catch limits for blacknose sharks and urge NOAA to support alternative C1, maintaining existing limits. Available assessments show blacknose sharks are heavily depleted and have only just begun to recover.

The rebuilding of our Atlantic shark populations will take decades and has only just begun. I urge the National Marine Fisheries Service and broader NOAA leadership to seek solutions to shark/fishery conflicts that do not compromise rebuilding plans, keeping in mind that the steady increase in recreational fishing pressure and depletion of sharks’ prey cannot be ignored as a factor.