Addendum I to the Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan. Multiple-Year Specification of Total Allowable Landings for Spiny Dogfish.

摘要

On April 3rd, 1998, National Marine Fisheries Service declared spiny dogfish overfished. Initial management actions to regulate the spiny dogfish fishery began in 1998 with the approval of a draft document called, The Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) and the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC). The fishery management plan (FMP) was partially approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on September 29, 1999, and the final rule implementing the FMP was published on January 10, 2000. The current federal FMP is based on a constant fishing mortality strategy that allows for low bycatch landings in the initial stages with increased landings as the female portion of the stock rebuilds (MAFMC and NEFMC, 1999). The federal FMP specifies a coastwide target fishing mortality rate of F = 0.03. This F target results in an initial quota of 4 million pounds. The annual quota is split on a semi-annual basis of Period I extending from May 1 through October 31, and Period II from November 1 through April 30. To control the level of effort, the management program also uses possession limits of 600 and 300 pounds for Period I and II, respectively. Federal action was initiated as increased fishing effort was directed on the spiny dogfish stock, which was a result of the declining abundance of more traditional groundfish resources. With no restraint on the harvest of spiny dogfish in the U.S. EEZ, fishing effort increased and most of the effort was directed on the removal of the adult female component of the stocks. Ultimately, this resulted in National Marine Fisheries Service designating spiny dogfish as overfished on April 3rd, 1998. This action mandated the development of the federal management plan.