Data / Federal rules / 2024-14495

International Fisheries; Pacific Tuna Fisheries; Safe Handling and Release Practices for Sharks on Longline Vessels and Revision to Vessel Monitoring System Requirements in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published this final rule in the Federal Register on July 2, 2024. It took effect on August 1, 2024.

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What the agency says

NMFS is issuing regulations under the Tuna Conventions Act (TCA) of 1950, as amended, to implement Resolutions C-23-07 (Conservation Measures for the Protection and Sustainable Management of Sharks) and C-23-11 (On the Establishment of a Vessel Monitoring System) adopted by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) at its meeting in August 2023 in Victoria, Canada. This final rule implements provisions of these Resolutions and requires U.S. longline vessels fishing for tuna or tuna-like species in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) to release incidentally caught sharks by leaving them in the water and cutting the branchline so that less than 1 meter remains on each animal. The final rule also requires large vessels fishing for tuna or tuna-like species in the EPO to make manual reports every six hours in the event of a malfunctioning vessel monitoring system (VMS) unit. This action is necessary for the United States to satisfy its obligations as a member of the IATTC.

Key facts

Document number: 2024-14495
Type: Final rule
Action: Final rule
Agency: Commerce Department; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Published: July 2, 2024
Takes effect: August 1, 2024
Dates: This rule is effective August 1, 2024.
Docket: Docket No. 240624-0174
Regulation ID (RIN): 0648-BM67
Code of Federal Regulations: 50 CFR 300
Topics: Administrative practice and procedure; Fish; Fisheries; Fishing; Marine resources; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements; Treaties
Pages: 3

The document on federalregister.gov PDF

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Everything from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · Rules on administrative practice and procedure · Rules on fish · Rules on fisheries · Published in July 2024

Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.