Development of protocols and guidelines for fishing gear to mitigate the ongoing impact of SIOFA fisheries on vulnerable deepwater sharks, including the definitions of leader and wire and other leader types for longline gear, and the application of move-on rules for demersal longline and trawl fisheries to protect vulnerable deepwater sharks.

This Project aims to address Recommendation number 2 of the SIOFA Performance Review “The Panel recommends that SIOFA CCPs task the Scientific Committee with assessing the status of key shark stocks in the Area and that their status be kept under constant review over the coming years”. This recommendation was considered by the MoP as a High priority and therefore, the project aims to provide a Preliminary quantitative assessment of Portuguese Dogfish determining the level of sustainable catch.