April 30, 2013 — NOAA Fisheries is implementing the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s jointly-recommended increased commercial quotas for 2013-2015 for the spiny dogfish fishery.
Increases from 2012 levels: 40.842 million lb in 2013 (+14%), 41.784 million lb in 2014 (+17%), and 41.578 million lb in 2015 (+16%). The commercial possession limit is also increased from 3,000 lb to 4,000 lb per trip (+33%).
Based on estimates from the recent updated stock assessment model, the spiny dogfish stock is not overfished (~35% above Bmsy), and overfishing is not occurring. Spiny dogfish were fully rebuilt from an overfished condition as of 2010, allowing significantly increased harvest levels in recent years.
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