Shark nursery grounds and essential fish habitat studies: Report on 2021 field activities in the Gulf of Mexico shark pupping and nursery survey

This report describes results from the cooperative Gulf of Mexico Shark Pupping and Nursery (GULFSPAN) survey for 2021. The GULFPSAN survey began in 2003 to examine the distribution and abundance of juvenile sharks in coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico. The ultimate intent of this survey is to continue to describe and further refine shark essential fish habitat as mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (US DOC 2007). NOAA Fisheries Panama City Laboratory oversees the survey and provides gillnet gear and tags. Individual collaborators are responsible for collection, storing, and compiling their data as well as writing their section of the year-end report. This year, collaborators included (from west to east): the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (Mississippi Sound, Mississippi), NOAA Fisheries Panama City Laboratory (Northwest Florida), Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory (Big Bend of Florida), and New College of Florida (southern Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay, Florida).