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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 32 Number 10
June 2005
Dogfish
No quota increase in 2005
GLOUCESTER, MA – Not that it changed the agency’s mind, but 65 people wrote to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to say “there were too many dogfish in the ocean” and fishermen should be allowed to target them.
NMFS acknowledged this widely held sentiment in a May 3 Federal Register notice announcing final specifications for the 2005 spiny dogfish fishing year, which began on May 1.
“Most of the commenters felt that NMFS should not be worrying about dogfish because they prey on other valuable commercial fish species and, by virtue of their great numbers, make it difficult for commercial and recreational fishermen to catch the fish they are targeting,” stated NMFS in its summary of the comments.
The agency also added, “Some commenters stated that the science on dogfish is faulty and that dogfish are not overfished.”
But in the end, NMFS decided against allowing a directed fishery and once again adopted a 4-million-pound commercial quota for spiny dogfish, divided between two semi-annual periods.
The quota for period 1, which runs May 1 through Oct. 31, is 2,316,000 pounds with a 600-pound possession limit, and the quota for period 2, which runs Nov. 1 through April 30, 2006, is 1,684,000 pounds with a 300-pound possession limit. These are the same specifications that ruled the fishery last year.
In justifying its decision, NMFS cited data, which indicated the spiny dogfish spawning stock biomass had declined from a historic high in 1990 of roughly 500 million pounds to about 115 million pounds in 2003. Although fishermen strongly disagree, dogfish are officially designated “overfished” and, as such, NMFS said the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires a rebuilding program.
“Recent population projections by the NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center … suggest a time span of 15 to 20 years before the stock will have fully recovered,” said NMFS.
Dogfish diet mixed
As for industry’s concern about dogfish preying on other commercially important species, NMFS said an analysis of more than 40,000 stomach samples over several decades showed that dogfish consume “high percentages of forage species, especially herring and mackerel, and a variety of invertebrates.”
Invertebrates, especially comb jellies and squid, made up roughly 50 percent of the diet of spiny dogfish in stomach samples analyzed from autumn surveys.
Cod, haddock, pollock, and flatfish “do not exceed 10 percent of the total diet,” said NMFS, adding, “Several recent scientific papers have documented the low occurrence of commercially important finfish in dogfish diets.”
Males-only denied
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council had recommended that NMFS adopt a 1,500-pound males-only possession limit to allow for a small directed fishery on dogfish to help both processors and fishermen.
But NMFS determined that any directed fishery was “inappropriate” in light of the “overfished condition” of the stock. Furthermore, since the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission adopted 600-pound and 300-pound possession limits, NMFS said “it would not be possible for a vessel operator to land 1,500 pounds of dogfish in any state.”
The New England council supported maintaining the status quo.
All told, NMFS received 73 comments on the proposed 2005 specifications, which were published in March, indicative of the continued high level of interest and frustration surrounding the spiny dogfish fishery.
Plan changes
In other dogfish-related news, the Mid-Atlantic and New England councils are proceeding with Framework Adjustment 1 to the federal dogfish plan, which would allow the councils to establish multi-year specifications instead of annual ones if so desired.
The framework is intended to reduce the administrative burden of developing annual specifications, though that approach would still be available in the plan.
Furthermore, the Mid-Atlantic council voted at its March meeting to request that NMFS designate it as the “sole council managing spiny dogfish,” as well as smooth dogfish, which currently aren’t regulated.
The Mid-Atlantic council additionally requested that NMFS allow the New England council to have “sole control” over the monkfish plan. Currently, the councils share joint management responsibilities for both spiny dogfish and monkfish.
The New England council intends to vote on the matter at its June 21-23 meeting in Portland, ME. /cfn/
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