Federal fisheries regulators have set the fall schedule for the two classroom courses that Atlantic shark dealers and longline and gillnet crews must complete to keep their permits valid. NOAA Fisheries published the workshop notice in the Federal Register on Wednesday, listing five free sessions across four coastal states between October and December.

The scheduling itself is routine. The reason the training exists is not. The federal government requires a dealer to sit through an identification course before legally buying a shark carcass because several Atlantic species look nearly identical once the head, fins and tail are removed, and because some of the most easily confused species cannot be landed at all. A carcass logged under the wrong name does not just create a paperwork error. The agency says the workshops are designed to reduce the number of unknown and improperly identified sharks in dealer reports, because those errors degrade both quota monitoring and the data used in stock assessments.

Five Sessions Between October and December

Two Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops are scheduled from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. local time. The first is set for October 19 at the Hilton Garden Inn on Rock Spring Road in Wilmington, North Carolina. The second is set for November 11 at the Hampton Inn and Suites on East Bay Drive in Largo, Florida, in the Tampa Bay metro area.

Three Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time. Those are scheduled for October 14 at the Hilton Garden Inn on Thurber Street in Warwick, Rhode Island, November 2 at the Hilton Garden Inn on North Virginia Dare Trail in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and December 3 at the Holiday Inn on Route 72 in Manahawkin, New Jersey.

All five are free. Registration is handled by Angler Conservation Education at 386-682-0158, and NOAA Fisheries says pre-registration is highly recommended but not required. Attendees must bring proof of identification and a copy of the applicable permit. Dealer permit holders must also bring proof that the attendee is an owner or agent of the business, such as articles of incorporation, and dealer proxies must bring documentation from the permitted dealer authorizing them to attend on behalf of a specific business location. Questions go to Anna Quintrell at NOAA Fisheries by email or at 301-427-8503.

The requirements sit in federal regulation at 50 CFR part 635, specifically section 635.8, issued under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The identification course is mandatory for every federally permitted Atlantic shark dealer, a requirement in place since January 1, 2008. The safe handling course, required since January 1, 2007, applies to vessel owners and at least one operator aboard any vessel holding a shark or swordfish limited access permit that fishes bottom longline, pelagic longline or gillnet gear. Those vessels may not fish unless valid certificates for both the owner and the operator are aboard at all times.

Ridgeback Sharks and the Cost of a Wrong Call

The identification problem has a name in the fishery. Ridgebacks are sharks with a strip of raised skin running along the midback between the two dorsal fins. According to NOAA Fisheries guidance on identifying ridgeback sharks, the common Atlantic ridgebacks include dusky, bignose, sandbar, night, silky, and Caribbean reef sharks, and most of them are prohibited species that must be released immediately if caught. Tiger and smoothhound sharks are the exceptions the agency names.

The agency's own advice to fishermen is blunt about the difficulty. NOAA Fisheries writes that there are many species of sharks and that they can be difficult to correctly identify, then tells anglers "if you don't know, let it go."

That is workable advice on the water, where a fisherman can release an animal rather than gamble on the call. It is not available to a dealer standing over a landed carcass on a dock. By then the fins and head are often gone, and the shape of the first dorsal fin relative to the pectorals, the length of the snout, and the relative size of the eyes are exactly the cues that have been removed.

Dusky and Sandbar Sharks Sit at the Center of It

The clearest illustration is the dusky and the sandbar. NOAA Fisheries identification material for its Cooperative Shark Tagging Program lists each species as the one that is most difficult to distinguish from the other. The separating features are subtle. The dusky grows larger, to about 12 feet or 3.7 meters, and carries proportionally smaller, swept-back fins with the first dorsal set farther back over the free tips of the pectoral fins. The sandbar has a large, triangular first dorsal fin originating over or slightly before the pectoral insertion, and it reaches a smaller maximum size.

Their legal status could hardly be more different. The dusky shark is a prohibited species and cannot be retained commercially or recreationally. NOAA's Northeast shark research page states that dusky sharks were prohibited from recreational and commercial retention in 2001 and that sandbar sharks were prohibited from recreational retention in 2009. Sandbar sharks can still be landed and sold, but only by commercial vessels participating in NOAA's shark research fishery.

The same agency page reports that survey data show Atlantic dusky and sandbar populations improving under those management measures, so the identification requirement is not evidence of a fishery in collapse. It is a condition of keeping the accounting honest while the stocks rebuild.

The stakes for the dusky are long-dated. Under Amendment 5b to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species plan, NOAA Fisheries set a target of cutting dusky shark mortality by 35 percent relative to 2015 levels, based on the 2016 update to the SEDAR 21 assessment, with a stated rebuilding horizon of the year 2107. That target was calculated to give the stock roughly a 50 percent probability of rebuilding on that timeline, which leaves little tolerance for undercounted mortality.

Permit Holders with 2023 Certificates Face a Deadline

Workshop certificates are valid for three years, and the notice confirms that certificates issued in 2023 expire this year for both course types. Dealers cannot renew a federal shark dealer permit without submitting a valid certificate for each business location that first receives sharks, and a copy must be kept in any truck or other conveyance that is an extension of the dealer's place of business.

Vessel owners whose certificates lapse before their next permit renewal, and operators whose certificates lapse before their next fishing trip, must attend a session first. New applicants for shark or swordfish limited access permits who intend to fish longline or gillnet gear must complete the safe handling course before either permit is issued.

There is a lower friction path for anyone already certified. NOAA Fisheries has offered online recertification since December 2021, but only to dealers, owners and operators who have previously attended in person. A first certification still requires showing up.

The safe handling course covers more than sharks. NOAA says it teaches the techniques required to safely handle and release hooked or entangled protected species, including sea turtles, marine mammals, smalltooth sawfish, Atlantic sturgeon, and prohibited sharks, with the stated goal of reducing mortality enough that additional regulations on these fisheries may not be needed in the future.

For readers outside the permitted fleet, the practical takeaway is narrower but still real. Recreational anglers who catch a ridgeback shark are generally required to release it, and NOAA's guidance is to use heavy tackle to shorten the fight, keep the animal in the water, use a dehooking device, and cut the leader as close to the hook as possible if removal would endanger the angler or the shark. Anyone unsure of the species should let it go rather than guess.

What Readers Want to Know

What did NOAA announce?

NOAA Fisheries published a Federal Register notice setting five free workshop dates between October and December for Atlantic shark dealers and for owners and operators of longline and gillnet vessels holding shark or swordfish limited access permits.

Where are the workshops being held?

The identification workshops are in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Largo, Florida. The safe handling workshops are in Warwick, Rhode Island, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and Manahawkin, New Jersey.

Who is required to attend?

Every federally permitted Atlantic shark dealer must hold a valid identification certificate. Vessel owners and at least one operator must hold a valid safe handling certificate on any longline or gillnet vessel with a shark or swordfish limited access permit.

What happens if a certificate expires?

Certificates last three years, and those issued in 2023 expire this year. A dealer cannot renew a shark dealer permit without a current certificate, and an affected vessel may not fish unless valid certificates for both owner and operator are aboard.

Why does shark identification matter beyond paperwork?

Several Atlantic sharks look alike, especially the prohibited dusky and the sandbar. NOAA says misidentified carcasses degrade quota monitoring and the catch data used in stock assessments, which in turn shape future fishing limits.

Can the training be completed online?

Only as a recertification. Online courses have been available since December 2021 for people who already attended an in-person workshop. A first certification must be earned in person.

What should a recreational angler do after hooking a ridgeback shark?

Most Atlantic ridgebacks are prohibited and must be released immediately. NOAA advises keeping the shark in the water, using a dehooking device, and cutting the leader close to the hook if removal is unsafe. If the species is uncertain, release it.