As per the press communiqué the ASFMC Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Sharks Management Board (Board) approved a 20 million pound quota with a maximum possession limit of 3,000 pounds for the 2011/2012 fishing season (May 1 – April 30). It was mentioned that the quota will be allocated with 58 percent to states from Maine through Connecticut, 26 percent to New York through Virginia, and 16 percent to North Carolina. While setting the quota the Board approved new reference points based on information from the latest stock assessment.
The press release mentioned that the 20 million pound quota was set to achieve a level of fishing mortality (F) equal to 75 percent of the target F and is consistent with recommendations of the Spiny Dogfish Technical Committee. The Technical Committee recommended reducing the target F by 25 percent to minimize any future drop in biomass. According to the latest stock statement spiny dogfish are not overfished and overfishing is not occurring. The biomass in 2010 is estimated to be 361.77 million pounds, which is slightly above the target biomass of 351.23 million pounds and is the second year in a row that biomass has exceeded the target.
There will be the development of an addendum to explore state-by-state allocation options for the southern management region (NY – NC). The Board said that it will consider approval of the draft addendum for public comment via email correspondence/conference call, with the intent to release it for public comment and state hearings in the winter and review for final approval at the Commission’s March meeting.
