Spiny Dogfish

In 1998, NMFS declared spiny dogfish overfished and initiated the development of a joint fishery management plan (FMP) between MAFMC and the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) in 1999. The Commission approved an Interstate FMP to complement the federal plan in 2003. Both the Commission and federal plans use a fishing mortality rate to set annual quotas and trip limits. The Commission’s FMP has an additional five addenda (Addenda I – V).

The spiny dogfish fishery, which operates from May 1 through April 30, is managed though an annual commercial quota, which is further allocated by state shares. Maine through Connecticut receive 58% of the quota and are limited by a maximum possession limit of 6,000 pounds per day. The southern state shares are allocated as follows: New York (2.7%); New Jersey (7.6%); Delaware (0.9%); Maryland (5.9%); Virginia (10.8%); and North Carolina (14.0%). Any overages from the previous fishing seasons are paid back by the region or state in the following season.

In February 2025, the Board approved Addendum VII to the FMP, which implements measures to maintain consistency with the federal FMP in response to 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 Addendum prohibits overnight soaks for state spiny dogfish permit holders on gillnets with mesh equal to or greater than 5.25” and less than 10” from November through March in specified areas off of Maryland and Virginia. The Addendum’s measures are effective May 1, 2025.

In January 2024, based on the results of the 2023 management track assessment, the Board approved the following coastwide commercial quotas for the 2024-2026 fishing years: 10,699,021 pounds for 2024/2025; 10,972,394 pounds for 2025/2026, and 11,223,720 pounds for 2026/2027. These quotas were consistent with the measures recommended to NOAA Fisheries by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council  pending approval of identical federal quotas from the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Administrator. Additionally, the Board maintained a 7,500-pound trip limit for the northern region.

However, in response to revised projections by the Science and Statistical Committee (SSC), the MAFMC and NEFMC approved a new recommended quota to NOAA Fisheries for the 2025/2026 fishing year of 9,338,770 pounds, and the Board approved an equivalent commercial quota for the 2025/2026 fishing year in February 2025.

The 2023 Management Track Stock Assessment indicates that spiny dogfish are not overfished and overfishing is not occurring. The spawning stock biomass estimate of 191 million pups is slightly above the SSB threshold of 188 million pounds, while the fishing mortality estimate (0.02) is just below the fishing mortality threshold (0.0246). However, the assessment also found a lower productivity of the stock, requiring reduced quotas to prevent overfishing in the future.

Prior to the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 (now known as the Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Act), foreign fleets caught the majority of dogfish in U.S. waters but U.S. fishermen have had uncontested access ever since the Act’s passage.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) encouraged commercial fishermen to target the bountiful stocks of spiny dogfish in the 1980s and 1990s when stocks of other commercially valuable fish in the Northeast declined. Then in 1998, NMFS determined that spiny dogfish were overfished and implemented stringent harvest restrictions in federal waters to allow the stock to rebound. The states followed shortly after with complementary regulations for state waters. Today, commercial fishermen catch spiny dogfish using longlines, trawls, and purse seines. Fishermen target female dogfish because the females grow larger than males and tend to school together. Processors prefer the larger dogfish because they are easier to hold and cut. The commercial fishery supplies the European food fish markets that use dogfish “belly flaps” for fish and chips in England and as a popular beer garden snack called shillerlocken in Germany.

There is also a small scientific fishery in Maine, which uses spiny dogfish to study several of the species’ unique biological characteristics. Dogfish have an organ called a rectal gland whose study helps scientists better understand the function of human kidneys. They also secrete a molecule called squalamine, which has strong antibiotic characteristics and shows promise as an anticancer agent.

Landings were approximately 37.2 million pounds in 1992, gradually increasing to a peak of about 60 million pounds in 1996. In the late 1990s, landings declined to an average of around 40 million. After federal and state regulations were implemented in the early 2000s, landings declined to less than five million pounds in 2001 and 2002. They then ranged between two and eight million pounds between 2003 and 2009. As the stock began to improve, landings were increased to 21 million pounds in 2011. Commercial landings continue to be mostly female dogfish, with female landings comprising about 98% of the total commercial catch.

In the 2022/2023 fishing year, commercial landings were estimated at 12.6 million pounds, while recreational harvest was estimated at 211,608 pounds. Discards have remained fairly stable, around 11 million pounds over the past decade and are expected to remain near that level in the future. Canadian and foreign landings have also decreased significantly in recent years. It is anticipated the Canadian dogfish harvest will not increase in the near future given the lack of demand for the product and the subsequent closure of Canadian spiny dogfish processors.