Annapolis, MD – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Shark Management Board approved a eight million pound quota for the 2008/2009 fishing year (May 1, 2008 – April 30, 2009), with 58% of the quota allocated to states from Maine through Connecticut and 42% allocated to New York through North Carolina. A trip limit of up to 3,000 pounds was also established.
The 2007 assessment update indicates that the spiny dogfish biomass has continued to increase. Though the stock has not rebuilt to its target spawning stock biomass, it is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring. The Technical Committee recommended a precautionary quota of six million pounds with a 600-pound trip limit due to continued poor pup recruitment that will cause the stock to decline after 2010.
In mid-October, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved and will recommend to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) a spiny dogfish quota of eight million pounds to be sub- allocated into two six-month periods (4,632,000 pounds for May 1 through October 31, and 3,368,000 pounds for November 1 through April 30). A trip limit of 600 pounds for both periods was approved and will likewise be recommended to NMFS.
For more information, please contact Christopher Vonderweidt, Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at (202)289-6400 or cvonderweidt@asmfc.org.