October 22, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved a commercial quota of 29.6 million pounds for the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 fishing years (May 1–April 30). The quotas are consistent with the measures recommended to NOAA Fisheries by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). State-specific allocations are provided in table below.
Although the Board had previously set multi-year specifications for 2019-2021, in December 2019 the Council approved a new Risk Policy with the intent that 2021/2022 specifications would be revised to reflect the new policy. As such, the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) recommended increasing the acceptable biological catch (ABC) for 2021 from 35.4 million pounds to 38.6 million pounds. Based on this revised ABC recommendation, the Council approved a commercial quota of 29,559,580 pounds, which is an 8% increase compared to the previously set 2021/2022 quota. The Council also voted to extend these same specifications to the 2022 fishing year to align with the timing of the 2022 research track assessment. The Board works cooperatively with the Council in managing the spiny dogfish fishery in order to have consistency in state and federal waters. Neither the Board nor the Council recommended trip limit changes but the Council has plans in 2021 to conduct socioeconomic analyses of potential trip limit changes.
The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters (0-3 miles from shore). The Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils will forward their recommendations for federal waters (3 –200 miles from shore) to NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Administrator for final approval. For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, ISFMP Director, at tkerns@asmfc.org or 703.