La. Admin. Code tit. 76 § VII-357

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section VII-357 - Sharks and Sawfishes-Harvest Regulations

A. The following rules and regulations are established for the taking and possession of sharks (including sawfishes) (class Elasmobranchiomorphi: orders Hexanchiformes, Lamniformes, Squaliformes, and Rajiformes) from within or without Louisiana waters. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to shrimp or menhaden harvest, and nothing contained herein is intended or shall be construed to repeal, amend, or otherwise modify the provisions of law applicable to shrimp or menhaden fishing, except for provisions:

1. outlawing finning of shark;

2. requiring a commercial state shark permit for sale, barter, trade, or exchange;

3. limiting sale, barter, trade, or exchange of sharks during closed seasons;

4. limiting shark retained by non-permit holders to be only as a mixed part of the total harvest, and only retained, held, or sold, purchased, bartered, traded, or exchanged as such; and

5. outlawing transfer of sharks between vessels at sea.

B. For management purposes, sharks are divided into the following categories:

1. small coastal sharks- bonnethead shark, Atlantic sharpnose shark, blacknose shark, finetooth shark;

2. large coastal sharks- great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, smooth hammerhead, nurse shark, blacktip shark, bull shark, lemon shark, sandbar shark, silky shark, spinner shark, tiger shark;

3. pelagic sharks- porbeagle shark, shortfin mako, blue shark, oceanic whitetip shark, thresher shark;

4. prohibited species- basking shark, white shark, bigeye sand tiger, sand tiger, whale shark, smalltooth sawfish, largetooth sawfish, Atlantic angel shark, Caribbean sharpnose shark, smalltail shark, bignose shark, Caribbean reef shark, dusky shark, Galapagos shark, narrowtooth shark, night shark, bigeye sixgill shark, bigeye thresher shark, longfin mako, sevengill shark, sixgill shark.

C. In addition to all other licenses and permits required by law, a valid original commercial state shark permit shall be annually required for persons commercially taking shark from Louisiana waters and for persons selling, exchanging, or bartering sharks as required by law; the valid original permit shall be in immediate possession of the permittee while engaged in fishing for, possessing, selling, bartering, trading, or exchanging shark.

D. No person shall purchase, sell, exchange, barter or attempt to purchase, sell, exchange, or barter any sharks in excess of any possession limit for which a state or federal commercial permit was issued.

1. All persons who do not possess a commercial state shark permit issued by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and, if applicable, a federal commercial directed or incidental limited shark permit or federal shark research permit issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service, are limited to a recreational possession limit. All persons who do not possess a Louisiana commercial state shark permit and, if applicable, a federal commercial directed or incidental limited shark permit or federal shark research permit issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service under the federal fishery management plan for Atlantic sharks, shall not sell, barter, trade, exchange or attempt to sell, barter, trade or exchange any sharks, or possess any sharks in excess of a recreational possession limit. Sharks taken incidental to menhaden fishing, that are retained on the vessel as part of the harvest, may be retained and sold only as a mixed part of the total harvest, and shall not be retained, held, or sold, purchased, bartered, traded, or exchanged separately. Sharks retained as a result of menhaden fishing shall not exceed legal bycatch allowances for menhaden fishing as provided for in R.S. 56:324.

2. Legally licensed Louisiana wholesale/retail seafood dealers, retail seafood dealers, restaurants, and retail grocers are not required to hold a commercial state shark permit in order to purchase, possess, exchange, barter and sell any quantities of sharks, so long as they maintain records as required by R.S. 56:306.5 and R.S. 56:306.6.

F. Sharks taken under a recreational bag limit shall not be sold, purchased, exchanged, traded, bartered, or attempted to be sold, purchased, exchanged, traded, or bartered. A person subject to a bag limit shall not possess at any time, regardless of the number of trips or the duration of a trip, any shark in excess of the recreational bag limits or less than minimum size limits as follows.

1. All sharks taken under a recreational bag limit within or without Louisiana waters must be at least 54 inches fork length, except that the minimum size limit does not apply for Atlantic sharpnose or bonnethead sharks. Male shortfin mako sharks must be at least 71 inches fork length and female shortfin mako sharks must be at least 83 inches fork length. No sandbar or silky shark may be retained under a recreational bag limit.

2. Owners/operators of vessels other than those taking sharks in compliance with a state or federal commercial permit are restricted to no more than one shark from either the large coastal, small coastal or pelagic group per vessel per trip within or without Louisiana waters, subject to the size limits described in LAC 76:VII.357.F.1, and, in addition, no person shall possess more than one Atlantic sharpnose shark and one bonnethead shark per person per trip within or without Louisiana waters, regardless of the length of a trip. No sandbar or silky shark may be retained by persons fishing under these limits.

3. All owners/operators of vessels recreationally fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic highly migratory species (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) in or from the EEZ must obtain and possess a federal Atlantic highly migratory species angling permit.

G. Those persons possessing a federal commercial directed or incidental limited access shark permit or federal shark research permit issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service under the federal fishery management plan for Atlantic sharks are limited to daily take, trip and possession limits as specified in that federal permit. Regardless of where fishing, a person aboard a vessel for which a federal shark permit has been issued shall not retain, possess, barter, trade, or exchange shark of any species group for which the commercial quota has been reached and the season closed in federal waters.

1. A vessel that has been issued or possesses a federal commercial directed or incidental limited access shark permit or federal shark research permit issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Federal Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Sharks shall not possess on any trip, or land from any trip, or sell, barter, trade, or exchange large coastal species in excess of the designated trip limits, as established under the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Plan and published in the Federal Register, regardless of where taken. Vessels that have been issued or that possess a federal commercial directed or incidental limited access shark permit or federal shark research permit may only possess, sell, barter, trade, or exchange one limit per vessel per day, where that limit is identified for that permit by NMFS. No person shall purchase, barter, trade, or exchange shark in excess of the designated trip limits or from any person who does not possess a commercial state shark permit or federal commercial directed or incidental limited access permit or federal shark research permit, if applicable.

2. Persons possessing a commercial state shark permit but no federal shark permit shall not possess on any one day, or on any trip, or land from any trip, or sell, barter, trade, or exchange in excess 45 sharks from the large coastal species group, taken from Louisiana state waters. Persons possessing a commercial state shark permit shall not possess any sandbar sharks unless they also have in their name and in possession a valid federal shark research permit under 50 CFR 635.32(1). If the department is notified that the National Marine Fisheries Service has made an in-season adjustment to the daily federal possession limit, the secretary of the department is authorized to adjust the daily possession limit of sharks from the large coastal species group. Such an adjustment of the daily possession limit shall not exceed 55 sharks from the large coastal species group.

3. Wholesale/retail seafood dealers who receive, purchase, trade for, or barter for Atlantic sharks, taken from the EEZ, from a fishing vessel must possess a valid federal dealer permit.

I. A person aboard a vessel for which a federal commercial directed or incidental limited access shark permit or federal shark research permit has been issued, or persons aboard a vessel fishing for or possessing shark in the EEZ shall comply with all applicable federal regulations.

J. Fins

1. The practice of "finning," that is, removing only the fins and returning the remainder of the shark to the sea, is prohibited within and without Louisiana waters.

2. All sharks possessed by a recreational fisherman shall be maintained with head and fins intact and shall not be skinned until set or put on shore.

3. Dealers purchasing sharks from state or federal waters must report the landings by species, and must specify the total shark fin numbers, values and weights separately from the weights, values and numbers of the shark carcasses. If a harvester retains the fins after offloading from the fishing vessel, the harvester must also be licensed as a wholesale/retail dealer, and must complete and file a trip ticket that includes the numbers and weights of fins retained immediately after being offloaded from the fishing vessel. Later transactions of fins must have documentation referring to the original trip ticket number for those fins. Such numbers and weights must be recorded on dealer records in compliance with R.S. 56:306.5 and R.S. 56:306.6.

4. Shark fins shall not be possessed aboard a fishing vessel unless naturally attached to the original shark carcass by at least some portion of uncut skin.

5. All sharks possessed aboard a commercial fishing vessel shall have fins including the tail intact and naturally attached to the shark carcass by at least some portion of uncut skin.

6. It is illegal to replace sharks that are onboard a fishing vessel for retention with sharks of higher quality or size that are caught later in a particular trip.

K. Prohibited Species

1. No person shall take, possess, purchase, sell, barter, exchange or attempt to possess, purchase, sell, barter, or exchange any of the following species or parts thereof:

a. basking shark-Cetorhinus maximus ;

b. white shark- Carcharodon carcharias;

c. bigeye sand tiger-Odontaspis noronhai ;

d. sand tiger- Odontaspis taurus;

e. whale shark-Rhincodon typus ;

f. smalltooth sawfish-Pristis pectinata ;

g. largetooth sawfish-Pristis pristis ;

h. Atlantic angel shark-Squatina dumerili ;

i. Caribbean sharpnose shark-Rhizoprionodon porosus ;

j. smalltail shark- Carcharhinus porosus;

k. bignose shark- Carcharhinus altimus;

l. Caribbean reef shark-Carcharhinus perezi ;

m. dusky shark- Carcharhinus obscurus;

n. Galapagos shark- Carcharhinus galapagensis;

o. narrowtooth shark- Carcharhinus brachyurus;

p. night shark- Carcharhinus signatus;

q. bigeye sixgill shark-Hexanchus vitulus ;

r. bigeye thresher shark-Alopias superciliosus ;

s. longfin mako shark-Isurus paucus ;

t. sevengill shark-Heptranchias perlo ;

u. sixgill shark-Hexanchus griseus.

2. Notwithstanding other provisions of this Part, a person may fish for, but not retain, white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) with rod and reel only under a catch and release program, provided the person releases and returns such fish to the sea immediately with a minimum of injury.

3. Notwithstanding other provisions of this Part, smalltooth sawfish or largetooth sawfish may be possessed as authorized by a special scientific and educational collecting permit issued by the department under R.S. 56:318, including whatever conditions that the department may deem necessary to ensure the maintenance and protection of the species. Nothing herein shall prohibit the possession of smalltooth sawfish or largetooth sawfish, or parts thereof, that were possessed prior to the effective date of this rule.

L. No person aboard any vessel shall transfer or cause the transfer of sharks between vessels on state or federal waters. Standard menhaden harvesting activities do not constitute transfer of sharks between vessels at sea.

M. Seasonal Closures

1. The secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is hereby authorized to close any recreational or commercial fishery for sharks, within and without Louisiana's territorial waters, when the secretary is notified by the National Marine Fisheries Service that the seasonal quota for that species group and fishery has been met. The closure order shall close the fishery until the date projected for the reopening of that fishery in the adjacent federal waters. The secretary is also hereby authorized to modify any such closure order to maintain consistency with reopening dates in the adjacent federal waters, should the federal closure dates be modified.

N. The fishing year for shark shall begin on January 1, 1998 and every January 1 thereafter.

O. No person who, pursuant to state or federal law, is subject to the jurisdiction of this state shall violate any federal law, rule or regulation particularly those rules and regulations enacted pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act and published in the Code of Federal Regulations as amended Title 50 and 15, for sharks and sawfishes while fishing in the EEZ, or possess, purchase, sell, barter, trade, or exchange sharks and sawfishes within or without the territorial boundaries of Louisiana in violation of any state or federal law, rule or regulation particularly those rules and regulations enacted pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act and published in the Code of Federal Regulations as amended Title 50 and 15 law.

La. Admin. Code tit. 76, § VII-357

Promulgated by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, LR 25:543 (March 1999), amended LR 27:2267 (December 2001), LR 30:1507 (July 2004), LR 35:705 (April 2009), LR 39:1062 (April 2013), Promulgated by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, LR 431188 (6/1/2017), Amended LR 4650 (1/1/2020), Amended LR 482994 (12/1/2022).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 56:6(10), R.S. 56:326(E)(2), R.S. 56:326.1, R.S. 56:326.3, R.S. 56:320.2(C), and R.S. 325.2(A).