NOAA Will Maintain Current Time/Area Closures to Protect Sharks On March 7, 2005, NOAA Fisheries Service received a petition for rulemaking from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Marine Fisheries, requesting changes to the current Mid-Atlantic shark closed area. The closed area boundary is set at 55 fathoms, from January to July in the middle part of the state. The petitioner requested that NOAA Fisheries Service include waters only out to 15 fathoms, coastwide and year-round off North Carolina. After carefully considering the petition and public comments on this issue, NOAA Fisheries has decided not to initiate the requested rulemaking at this time. The large coastal shark rebuilding plan relies, in part, on the benefits expected from this time/area closure. Without new information, there is no basis to modify the existing time/area closure.
For more information, please read the
NOAA Will Maintain Current Time/Area Closures to Protect Sharks
On March 7, 2005, NOAA Fisheries Service received a petition for rulemaking from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Marine Fisheries, requesting changes to the current Mid-Atlantic shark closed area. The closed area boundary is set at 55 fathoms, from January to July in the middle part of the state. The petitioner requested that NOAA Fisheries Service include waters only out to 15 fathoms, coastwide and year-round off North Carolina.
After carefully considering the petition and public comments on this issue, NOAA Fisheries has decided not to initiate the requested rulemaking at this time. The large coastal shark rebuilding plan relies, in part, on the benefits expected from this time/area closure. Without new information, there is no basis to modify the existing time/area closure.
For more information, please read the