The purpose of these rule amendments is to modify the Commission’s Sharks and Rays Rule to comply with the newly created Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Coastal Sharks (Plan). The ASMFC created this Plan because coordinated state management is a vital step towards establishing healthy, self-sustaining populations of Atlantic coastal sharks. The Plan lays out management measures that Florida is required to adopt unless Florida enacts alternative measures that are approved by the ASMFC as conservation equivalency measures. The Commission is considering changes to state regulations that would: 1) add sandbar, silky and Caribbean sharpnose sharks to the prohibited species list, 2) prohibit all shark harvesters from removing the heads of sharks while at sea, 3) create a minimum size limit of 54 inches fork length for all allowable shark species except the Atlantic sharpnose, blacknose, bonnethead, finetooth, smooth dogfish, and blacktip sharks, creating a size limit for 14 species of sharks in Florida waters, 4) allow only hook and line gear for the harvest of sharks, and 5) update and clarify language throughout the rule, update references to the Code of Federal Regulations, and change the start date of the commercial fishing year. The effect of these rule amendments is that the management of Atlantic coastal sharks will be coordinated along the eastern seaboard which is a vital step towards establishing healthy, self-sustaining populations of these species. By adopting these regulations the State of Florida will be contributing to the effort to reduce fishing pressure on Atlantic coastal sharks and allow these populations to expand. This should help ensure a larger sustainable harvest for the future.