Shark fishing remains popular along the Mid Atlantic Coast, despite a number of changes.
In the mid-1980s, sharks were considered an under-utilized resource by fisheries managers and increased fishing pressure was encouraged.
Over the next several years, fishing effort increased considerably and the impact of unregulated harvest was beginning to take its toll on some shark species.
In the early 1990s, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) implemented a Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Sharks of the Atlantic Ocean.
In May 2008, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission adopted an Interstate FMP for Atlantic Coastal Sharks to complement federal management actions and increase protection of pregnant females and juveniles inshore in nursery areas.
The Shark Conservation Act of 2010 instituted additional measures to protect shark species from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, as well as allowed for the continued, regulated harvest of smooth dogfish within U.S. waters.