Advancing Shark Population and Longline Operational Characteristics Research and Management in the EPO

2026-07-22

This proposal seeks funding to support four work plans that contribute directly advancing shark population and longline fishing operational characteristics research and management in the EPO. These include “WP1: Project Management”, “WP2: Feasibility and sampling design for close-kin mark-recapture analysis of silky and hammerhead sharks in the EPO”, “WP3: Improving Standardization of Longline CPUE data”, and “WP4: Pilot Study to inform the design for an experiment to evaluate the effects of different branch line configurations on swordfish and bycatch catch rates in EPO pelagic longline fisheries”. Collectively, these projects will advance the science and management of priority target and bycatch species caught by tuna fishing operations in the EPO. WP2 will produce the necessary molecular tools needed to run a CKMR assessment of silky sharks in the EPO, enabling for improved understanding and management of the species. WP3 will produce a report describing advances and good practices in the creation of abundance indices based off of longline fishing data. WP4 will produce an evaluation of the uptake and effects of recent changes in gear used in pelagic longline fisheries targeting swordfish.

United States of America (USA)

2026-01-01