Abstract

In efforts to maintain viable shark populations, The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, an agency of NOAA) developed the 1993 Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) for Sharks of the Atlantic Ocean (NOAA 1993). This plan stresses the need for monitoring and assessment of shark populations to determine the efficacy of FMP measures. NMFS Mississippi Laboratories (MSL) instituted field surveys (beginning 1995), with support from The NMFS Highly Migratory Species Division, to assess distribution and relative abundance of coastal sharks in the western North Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. In order to assess The extent of shared shark and teleost populations between Mexico and the U.S. within the western North Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, NMFS and the Instituto Nacional de la Pesca (INP) of Mexico instituted a cooperative bottom longline research initiative that operates under auspices of MEXUS-Gulf. The first of a series of cooperative projects was conducted during summer of 1997, with subsequent projects during 1998, 2001 and 2002 [Grace 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002]. Scientists representing INP, NMFS and several Mexican and U.S. based institutions and universities participated. Gear, survey design and project objectives for the Mexico based effort was consistent with NMFS U.S. based surveys. One hundred and sixty five bottom longline stations were completed during 51 survey days. Captures include 97 sharks, 57 other elasmobranches and 248 teleosts. The MEXUS-Gulf bottom longline surveys have been successful for developing a useful fisheries independent data base.

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