Arlington, VA – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Sharks Management Board (Board) approved Addendum III to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Spiny Dogfish (Addendum III). The Addendum divides the southern region annual quota of 42% into state-specific shares (see table below). It also allows for quota transfer between states, rollovers of up to five percent and state-specified possession limits, and includes a three-year reevaluation of the measures. The Addendum’s provisions apply only to states in the southern region (New York through North Carolina) and do not modify the northern region allocation. The states of Maine to Connecticut will continue to share 58% of the annual quota as specified in Addendum II.
Southern Region State Shares. Quota allocation differs slightly from specific options presented in the draft addendum and are based on needs of states in the southern region with a consideration of historic landings.
| NY | NJ | DE | MD | VA | NC | |
| Percent of Annual Coastwide Quota | 2.707% | 7.644% | 0.896% | 5.920% | 10.795% | 14.036% |
| Allocation for 2011/2012 Fishing Season (in pounds) Based on 20 Million Pound Coastwide Quota | 541,400 | 1,528,800 | 179,200 | 1,184,000 | 2,159,000 | 2,807,200 |
Addendum III was initiated to give the southern states greater control of their spiny dogfish fisheries through state-specific quotas and to achieve consistent allocation for all states in the southern region. The southern region’s previous allocation was established in Addendum II, which set a regional allocation with 26% of the annual quota to New York through Virginia and 16% to North Carolina. States were interested in lowering daily possession limits when demand and value are low and increasing them when demand and value are greatest—but the southern region allocation did not allow them (with the exception of North Carolina) to do so without having less access to the regional quota.
Copies of Addendum III will be available on the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News by the end of March. For more information, please contact Chris Vonderweidt, FMP Coordinator, at cvonderweidt@asmfc.org or (703) 842-0740.