This page contains Commission documents which are currently available for public review and comment. In most cases, these documents will be in Abobe PDF format. Click here to download Acrobat Reader.
We encourage you to download these documents and forward your comments to the identified individual(s) via email or mail. The Commission's mailing address is: 1050 N. Highland Street, Arlington, VA 22201. You may also submit your comments directly to the Commission at comments@asmfc.org.
Spiny Dogfish Draft Addendum VII for Public Comment: Commercial Management - Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch (public comment accepted until 11:59 PM January 3, 2025; send comments to comments@asmfc.org - Subject line: Spiny Dogfish Draft Addendum VII). The Draft Addendum considers potential measures to maintain consistency with the federal Fishery Management Plan in response to the proposed rule to implement Spiny Dogfish Framework Adjustment 6.
The Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils developed Spiny Dogfish Framework Adjustment 6 in response to a 2021 Biological Opinion and 2022 Action Plan that called for reducing bycatch of Atlantic sturgeon in spiny dogfish gillnet fisheries. The coastwide Atlantic sturgeon population is made up of five distinct population segments, all of which are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and Atlantic sturgeon harvest has been under a coastwide moratorium in federal and state waters since 1998. The Commission’s Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic sturgeon maintains the moratorium through at least 2038, and while the 2024 stock assessment update showed signs of improvement, the stock remains depleted coastwide.
The Board initiated Draft Addendum VII in August 2024 after the Councils recommended measures to NOAA Fisheries to prohibit overnight soaks for federal spiny dogfish permit holders on gillnets with 5”-10” mesh in November and May for a certain area of state and federal waters off of New Jersey, as well as for gillnets of 5.25”-10” mesh in November through March in specified areas off of Maryland and Virginia. The options in the Draft Addendum aim to establish equivalent overnight soak restrictions for spiny dogfish harvesters in state waters that do not possess a federal spiny dogfish permit.
The public is encouraged to submit comments at any time during the addendum process. Public comment will be accepted until 11:59 PM (EST) on January 3, 2025 and should be sent to:
James Boyle
FMP Coordinator
1050 N. Highland Street
Suite 200 A-N
Arlington, Virginia 22201
or to comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Spiny Dogfish Draft Addendum VII)
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