I was on the DMF site tonight and noticed
Commercial quota for dog fish
Quota- 4,000,000 lbs for 2004
Landings- 380,674
Thats less than 11% of the quota caught for the whole year, and there is less than 2 1/2 months left in the year!!!
Daily catch limits
Jan 19 - April 30 300 lbs per day
May 1 - Quota dep 600 lbs per day
It's no big mystery why very few guys fish for them commercially when they pay next to nothing per lb!!! and at best to catch 600 lbs per day!!!:smash:
I think some changes are in order!!!

Raider Ronnie

Ron...you broke the noses of at least that many dogs!;)

Originally posted by BigFish
Ron...you broke the noses of at least that many dogs!;)

I've got a way to go to make them endangered like some say they are!!!

Raider Ron....ridding the earths oceans of the dreaded dogfih......one nose at a time!:happy:

I found a way to take out five with one swipe of the shiv !

:hidin:

I've heard one of the biggest problems is not the quota (the Comm's would lobby to lift it) but the fact that there is no processing capabilities anymore . . . they gone bye-bye . . . no processing = no market = no money

When they lowered the quota the plants shut down and everyone stopped fishing for them. You can get .10 a pound I've heard, but it isn't worth it. Why are there so many dogs in MA?

"Fishermen from Massachusetts ports are responsible for approximately 80 per cent of the U.S. Atlantic spiny dogfish quota."

Environmentalists Lambaste Spiny Dogfish Catch Limits
Environmentalists have condemned the opening of the Massachusetts spiny dogfish shark fishery under what they term "an excessive limit that puts the population at risk of collapse." The Ocean Conservancy says that officials in Massachusetts, base of the country's largest dogfish fishery, have "repeatedly defied scientific warnings as part of a relentless campaign to allow continued fishing of mature female dogfish." The organization notes that new rules allow fishermen to "keep 7,000 lbs of dogfish sharks per trip, more than ten times the scientifically advised limit of 600 lbs." Massachusetts officials, says the Ocean Conservancy, "are going ahead with this policy despite new scientific findings that the dogfish population will collapse under status quo conditions."

That sentiment is endorsed by Dr. Jack Musick of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, a member of the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Dogfish Technical Team. "The population is showing alarming signs of distress," he explains. "Due to intense targeting by the directed fishery, we've seen a devastating loss of mature females. This has led to a dearth of baby dogfish, such that the population can no longer sustain itself. This phenomenon, known as recruitment failure, is a formula for complete collapse of the spiny dogfish population."

Dogfish, like other sharks, are especially susceptible to overfishing because they grow slowly, mature late and produce few young. Commercial fishermen target mature female dogfish because they grow larger than males. Female spiny dogfish produce six pups on average after a two-year gestation period. Studies have shown a 75% decline in large female dogfish since 1989 and seven straight years of record low numbers of pups.

In June, the ASMFC Spiny Dogfish Board voted on a proposal to lower quotas to scientifically-recommended levels. Although the majority of members voted in favor of the resolution, it failed by one vote to reach the necessary two-thirds level. Some New England states are reportedly considering voluntary, non-binding limits, but environmentalists are insisting on the need for public, binding agreements.

Fishermen from Massachusetts ports are responsible for approximately 80 per cent of the U.S. Atlantic spiny dogfish quota. Most of the catch is sent to Europe for "fish and chips" and beer garden snacks.

Contact: Tom McCann, The Ocean Conservancy. Tel: (202) 857 3262. Email: tmccann@oceanconservancy.org.