Shark Survey Coming to HMS Permit Holders
February 24, 2021
If you had a NOAA Fisheries Highly Migratory Species Angling or Charter/Headboat category permit and shark endorsement in 2020, be on the lookout for an important survey about shortfin makos in your email inbox including your junk mail or standard mailbox in the near future! The survey is part of a larger study to assess and minimize post-release mortality in the recreational shortfin mako shark fishery.
In 2018, NOAA Fisheries increased the minimum shortfin mako recreational size limit drastically from 54” to 72” for males and 83” for females to help reduce overfishing of the depleted North Atlantic shortfin mako stock. As a result of this change, the percentage of makos caught and released by recreational anglers increased dramatically. While this may seem like a good way to get the stock on the road to recovery, catch and release is only effective if makos survive the stress and injury that they experience when b