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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 12
August 2006
Massachusetts ready to reopen directed dogfish fishery
GLOUCESTER, MA – New stock assessment information has prompted Massachusetts fishery managers to begin immediate efforts to reopen a small-scale directed fishery for spiny dogfish in state waters in order to protect juvenile cod.
During the July 13 meeting of the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Commission, Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) Deputy Director David Pierce presented commission members with information taken from the latest Northeast Fisheries Science Center dogfish stock assessment and the report of an independent panel that peer reviewed the assessment.
“Spiny dogfish is no longer overfished and, applying the new fishing mortality rate threshold that the scientists are suggesting, we’re not overfishing,” Pierce said.
“This leads us to suggest a precautionary approach to cod conservation,” he continued. “In other words, we believe we should err on the side of cod rebuilding, not dogfish rebuilding.”
Bycatch quota
Federal regulations put in place by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and interstate measures agreed to by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) have shut down the directed dogfish fishery in recent years.
Instead, the fishery has been limited to a bycatch-level quota with very small trip limits. Passionately supported by environmental groups, the goal has been to rebuild populations of large female dogfish, which had been targeted by the directed commercial fishery.
This year, both ASMFC and NMFS adopted a 4-million-pound quota with a 600-pound trip limit. ASMFC set the limits for one year in anticipation of the new stock assessment. NMFS set the 4-million-pound quota for a three-year period, 2006-2009.
Massachusetts, with Pierce at the forefront, has resisted this approach and even allowed an extremely controversial small-scale directed fishery in state waters in 2000 and 2001.
Dogfish prey on cod
In addition to dogfish’s interference with just about all inshore commercial and recreational fisheries due to their massive numbers, fishermen and managers alike have been worried about the effects of dogfish predation on cod and inshore populations of sea herring.
This has been especially troubling in Massachusetts where DMF has closed the highly productive, traditional, winter cod fishery in state waters – an action many Bay State fishermen have bitterly protested.
“We have every reason to believe that very high numbers of large dogfish have an adverse impact on our efforts to rebuild codfish, specifically juvenile codfish found in Massachusetts Bay, Cape Cod Bay, our state Cod Conservation Zone, and Stellwagen Bank,” said Pierce.
Referring to the bycatch-only interstate and federal policy, Pierce added, “In light of recent information, we are concluding that this ill-advised management could undo what DMF, fishermen, and this commission have worked so hard to accomplish – the protection of codfish in the Gulf of Maine to promote cod spawning.”
Work with states
DMF Director Paul Diodati said he was convinced that it “makes no sense not to have a small-scale dogfish fishery,” but he stressed that Massachusetts would have to take care not to put other states in a bad position, particularly North Carolina, which also had an inshore directed fishery until shut down by NMFS and ASMFC.
“I am prepared to move forward but I’m concerned about our interstate relationships,” Diodati said.
Diodati added that he planned to consult with his counterparts, particularly those in North Carolina and New Hampshire, and put together a memo for the Aug. 14 meeting of the ASMFC spiny dogfish management board proposing an immediate reopening of a small directed fishery.
“We’ll put together a proposal if we have your support,” Diodati told the commission.
Commission members, who receive constant complaints about swarming dogfish in state waters, were emphatically behind the idea.
“You have always had our support,” said long-time commission member Mark Amorello, clearly speaking for all.
Diodati added that DMF would likely come back to the commission for approval of taking emergency action to reopen the directed dogfish fishery in state waters sometime in September.
The dogfish stock assessment documents can be found on the Internet at <www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/saw>.
Groundfish, fluke on hold
In other business, Diodati followed up on fluke and groundfish management initiatives that he had floated at the commission’s June meeting. In both cases, he said he had decided that more work was needed before moving forward.
Diodati explained that given the commonwealth’s litigation against the federal government over the groundfish emergency action and the anticipated enactment of Framework 42 to the federal groundfish plan, it made sense to wait to go out to public hearing with a comprehensive state groundfish plan.
And, rather than bringing a proposal for an open-access fluke hook fishery with dual trip limits – 300 pounds for commercial hookers and 75 pounds for noncommercial hookers – to public hearing, Diodati asked that the commission form a subcommittee to further investigate options.
He said DMF staff had done the projections on the amount of fish that could potentially be caught under an open-access regime with a 75-pound trip limit and found the catch likely would be high.
“I don’t think it would work,” Diodati said. “It would dilute quite a bit of what’s available to full-time (hook) fishermen. We’re kind of back to square one.”
Protect draggers
The discussion on this issue was peppered with comments from commission member Rodney Avila, who reminded the commission that it was mobile gear fishermen who built the history that qualified Massachusetts for a share of the coastwide quota.
“The state allocation came off the backs of the commercial trawl fishery,” he said. “We have to protect the draggers, and I agree it’s right to bring the 62 hook permit holders (who have landed more than 500 pounds annually) up to the 300-pound trip limit. The rest should work with what’s left.”
The commission agreed to create a subcommittee to further explore this issue. Commission members Amorello and Avila agreed to serve. A hook representative – Russ Cleary of the Commercial Anglers’ Association or an alternate – and one representative of the fluke net fishery will join them.
Both DMF’s groundfish and fluke proposals were originally meant to respond to a number of public petitions (see CFN July 2006 page 18A for details).
The agency had anticipated holding public hearings later this summer. Diodati said he now thinks hearings are more likely in late September or early October.
Horseshoe crab closure
In response to indications that recent horseshoe crab harvest restrictions in Delaware Bay may have spurred a shift in effort to New England, DMF proposed and the commission authorized the immediate closure of the Pleasant Bay/Little Pleasant Bay complex on Cape Cod to the horseshoe crab bait fishery.
The closure, which went into effect through emergency action on July 17 for the remainder of 2006, applies to Chatham Harbor north, Pochet Creek, Round Cove, Bassing Harbor, Ryders Cove, Crows Pond, Frostfish Creek, Muddy Creek, Quanset Pond, Namequoit River, and Paw Wah Pond.
According to DMF, landings in the horseshoe crab bait fishery increased from 194 crabs in 2001 to 25,199 crabs in 2005.
“Although this increased harvest is seen in many areas of the commonwealth, the spike in landings in the Pleasant Bay/Little Pleasant Bay complex has reached a level of effort that is not sustainable,” DMF said.
The agency also said that, in too many instances, landings reports were not being filed within required reporting periods, further complicating management efforts.
Horseshoe crabs are used as bait primarily in the conch pot fishery. The closure does not affect the horseshoe crab biomedical fishery. Crabs harvested for use by the biomedical industry are released alive.
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