Why It Matters: Along much of the nation’s coastline, sharks are increasingly intercepting fish being landed by recreational and commercial fishermen, creating frustration for anglers and challenges for fisheries sustainability. The Supporting the Health of Aquatic systems through Research, Knowledge and Enhanced Dialogue Act, or SHARKED Act, a bill to establish a task force that will bring experts and academia to the table to find solutions, strongly supported by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), was recently introduced in the Senate.
Highlights:
- Sharks have become increasingly problematic for recreational and commercial fisheries in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific Islands.
- The SHARKED Act ( 2314) would establish a task force to explore opportunities to minimize interactions between sharks and anglers.
Last week, the SHARKED Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Rick Scott (FL) and Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Member Sen. Brian Schatz (HI). This bill focuses on the growing trend of shark depredation, which not only threatens the sustainability of fish populations but also threatens the safety of both humans and sharks.
In recent years, particularly in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific Islands, the frequency of sharks intercepting fish being landed by anglers and commercial fishermen has increased substantially. As apex predators, sharks play an important role in our natural marine ecosystems. However, hooked fish being landed by anglers or commercial fishermen creates an unnatural and easy meal for sharks and exposes them to potentially harmful fishing gear. As the rate of shark depredation has increased, fishermen have become increasingly frustrated by the issue and a continued lack of response from the fisheries management community.
The bipartisan SHARKED Act would simply establish a non-regulatory task force that would be responsible for making recommendations for improving coordination and communication across the fisheries management community on shark depredation, as well as identifying research priorities and funding opportunities.
The bill is moving quickly in the Senate, with a markup scheduled for this Wednesday. CSF applauds Sens. Scott and Schatz for getting the ball rolling towards solutions in the Senate and looks forward to ensuring this bill becomes law in the 119th Congress.
