The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has issued a temporary final rule adjusting the annual commercial quotas for Atlantic sharks for 2025. These changes are based on shark underharvests from the 2024 fishing year, allowing additional fishing opportunities for commercial shark fishermen. The rule specifies that certain shark species, such as Gulf of America blacktip and smoothhound sharks, can have unharvested quotas carried over because they are not overfished. However, other shark groups like Hammerhead and Blacknose, which are either overfished or overfishing is occurring, won't have quota carryovers. The rule is effective from April 16, 2025, through December 31, 2025.
Simple Explanation
The people in charge of fishing rules are letting fishermen catch a bit more of certain types of sharks in 2025 because last year they didn't catch as many as they were allowed to. But for some types of sharks that are in trouble, they won't let extra fishing happen to keep them safe.