Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 02:14:03 -0700 From: Jim MorrisSubject: Environmental Group Wants Texas Rules Strengthened to Help Sharks Forwarded the following article as well. Best regards, Jim Morris http://starbulletin.com/97/12/22/features/index.htmlarchive/ Environmental Group Wants Texas Rules Strengthened to Help Sharks States 13-JUL-98 WASHINGTON July 10 (States) -- Texans are 148 times more likely to be struck by lightening than to be eaten by sharks, an environmental organization pointed out in a study released Monday, so why not help the sharks? The Ocean Wildlife Campaign, a marine environmental coalition that includes the National Audubon Society, was scheduled to release a report Monday that called the Lone Star State's efforts to protect sharks "Less than satisfactory." "It's not that they are doing a terrible job, but they could do more," said the Audubon Society's Dr. Merry Camhi, author of the report. Camhi's study rated each North Atlantic and Gulf states according to how well it measured up to federal standards of shark protection. While Texas imposes bag limits -- the number of sharks allowed to be caught in one expedition -- the state does not take action in several areas in which the federal government does. Texas does not close its fishing waters during a federal closure, it does not impose limits on the size of shark permitted to be caught, the process of cutting off fins and throwing the carcass back in the water is not forbidden and the state does not prohibit the catch or possession of protected shark species. But state wildlife officials and experts in the field say that the study skews current need and existence of shark protections. "We have a lot of those (policies) covered elsewhere, (in regulations) not specifically directed at sharks," said Larry McEachron, science director for the coastal fisheries division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "We believe the bag limits we have in effect are more conservative than what we see elsewhere," McEachron said. Texas law prohibits a fisherman from taking more than five sharks in any one trip, McEachron said, which makes commercial fishing uneconomical for all but a few small enterprises. Dr. Steven Brandstetter, an expert in shark fisheries, thinks Texas doesn't need more regulations. "As far as I'm concerned I don't think that Texas is out of line," said Brandstetter, program director for Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Development Foundation, in Tampa, Fla."Some states need to have additional regulations for shark fishing....Texas doesn't need them. Compared to the other areas, it's really a minor (shark-fishing) area." Texas accounts for three percent of the shark fishing for the North Atlantic Coast, according to McEachron. Camhi said that Texas falls in the middle of the states she studied in terms of its actions. "It's nowhere near as progressive as Florida, but much better in Louisiana," Camhi said. Along with the Audubon Society, the groups in the Ocean Wildlife Campaign include the National Coalition for Marine Conservation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the World Wildlife Foundation. Although the report did point out that between 1959 and 1990, 148 people died from being struck by lightening while only one died from a shark, it did not predict that more surfers would be in trouble if Texas helped increase the shark population. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.comm/97/12/22/features/index.htmlarchive/ Reply Reply All Forward Delete Previous Next Close (Move to Selected Folder) In-Box Sent Messages Drafts Trash Can