Oceanic whitetip sharks
1. It shall be prohibited to retain onboard, tranship, land, store, sell or offer for sale any part or whole carcass of oceanic whitetip sharks ( Carcharhinus longimanus ).
2. Whitetip sharks shall be, to the extent practicable, promptly released unharmed when brought alongside the vessel.
3. Member States, shall record, inter alia, through the observer programmes, the number of discards and releases of whitetip sharks, indicating the status (dead or alive), including those released under paragraph 2.
Mobulid rays
1. It shall be prohibited to retain onboard, tranship, land, store, sell or offer for sale any part or whole carcass of Mobulid rays (which includes Manta rays and Mobula rays) caught in the Convention area.
2. If Mobulid rays are unintentionally caught and frozen as part of a purse seine vessel operation, the vessel shall surrender the whole Mobulid ray to the responsible authorities at the point of landing. Mobulid rays surrendered in that manner shall not be sold or bartered but may be donated for purposes of domestic human consumption.
3. Mobulid rays that are caught unintentionally shall be promptly released unharmed, to the extent practicable, as soon as they are seen in the net, on the hook, or on the deck. Release shall be carried out in a manner that will result in the least possible harm to the Mobulid rays captured without compromising the safety of any persons, following the guidelines detailed in Annex 1 to IATTC Resolution C-15-04.
4. Member States shall record, inter alia, through the observer programmes, the number of discards and releases of Mobulid rays, indicating the status (dead or alive), including those surrendered under paragraph 2.
Silky sharks
1. It shall be prohibited to retain on board, tranship, land, store, sell or offer for sale any part or whole, carcasses of silky sharks ( Carcharhinus falciformis ) caught by purse seine vessels in the Convention area.
2. If silky sharks are unintentionally caught and frozen as part of a purse seine vessel operation, and if the governmental authorities are present at the point of landing, the whole silky shark shall be surrendered to them. If the governmental authorities are unavailable, the whole silky shark surrendered shall not be sold or bartered but may be donated for purposes of domestic human consumption. Silky sharks surrendered in this manner shall be reported to the IATTC Secretariat.
3. Longline vessels that catch sharks incidentally shall limit bycatch of silky sharks to a maximum of 20 % of the total catch by fishing trip in weight.
4. Union fishing vessels shall not fish in silky shark pupping areas identified by the IATTC.
Whale sharks
1. Union fishing vessels shall not set a purse seine net on a school of tunas associated with a live whale shark ( Rhincodon
typus ), if the animal is sighted prior to the commencement of the set.
2. In the event that a whale shark is not deliberately encircled in the purse seine net, the master of the vessel shall:
(a)
ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure its safe release; and
(b)
report the incident to the Member State, including the number of individuals concerned, details of how and why the encirclement happened, where it occurred, steps taken to ensure safe release, and an assessment of the life status of the animal(s) on release (including whether any were released alive but subsequently died).
3. Whale sharks shall not be towed out of a purse seine net.
Safe release of sharks by purse seine vessels
1. Union fishing vessels shall promptly release sharks (whether alive or dead) caught that are not retained unharmed, to the extent practicable, as soon as they are seen in the net or on the deck, without compromising the safety of any persons.
2. If a shark is alive when caught by purse seine vessels and is not retained, the shark shall be released by using the following procedures, or equally effective means:
(a)
sharks are released out of the net by directly releasing them from the brailer into the ocean;
(b)
sharks that cannot be released without compromising the safety of persons before being landed on deck are returned to the water as soon as possible, either utilising a ramp from the deck connecting to an opening on the side of the vessel, or through escape hatches; and
(c)
if ramps or escape hatches are not available, the sharks are lowered with a sling or cargo net, using a crane or similar equipment, if available.
The use of gaffs, hooks or similar instruments shall be prohibited for the handling of sharks. No shark may be lifted by the head, tail, gill slits, or spiracles, or by using bind wire against or inserted through the body, and no holes may be punched through the bodies of sharks (e.g. to pass a cable through for lifting the shark).
Prohibition of use of shark lines by longline vessels
Union longline fishing vessels shall not use shark lines.
Data collection on shark species
1. Masters of Union fishing vessels shall collect and submit catch data for silky and hammerhead sharks to the Member States, who shall send and submit those data to the Commission by 31 March each year. The Commission shall forward the data to the IATTC Secretariat.
2. Observers on Union fishing vessels shall record the number and status (dead or alive) of silky sharks and hammerhead sharks caught and released.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
