Spurdog

In the Northwest Atlantic, spurdog is not overfished, or subject to overfishing.In the early 1990's, population biomass of spurdog in the Northwest Atlantic was at its highest estimated level. A large scale unregulated fishery developed and quickly depleted the stock of mature female spurdog. The implementation of a spurdog fishery management plan (FMP) in 2000 halted the further depletion of mature female spurdog and allowed the stock to recover to a sustainable level.In the Northwest Atlantic, the latest available stock assessment (2022) showed that the spawning output was estimated to be 190.8 million pups which is 101% of it's target (SSB MSY proxy = 188 million pups). Therefore, it is sustainably fished.There was a reduction in catches in 2022. Fishing mortality was estimated to be 0.02 which is 81% of the overfishing threshold (FMSY proxy = 0.0246). Therefore, it is harvested sustainably.

The spurdog fishery is well managed, fishers must have a permit to harvest spurdog and annual catch limits and a commercial quota are set. If the quota is fully harvested, then the fishery will be closed and, if the annual catch limit is exceeded, the exact amount will be deducted from the subsequent fishing year. This fishery is Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified.The Northwest Atlantic spurdog fishery is managed by NOAA Fisheries, the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The fishery is managed using a coast-wide annual quota and possession limits. While there are no specific management areas for the fishery, vessels fishing for spurdog in federal waters must also comply with closed areas for Northeast multispecies (groundfish) and other fisheries. There are several exempted fishing areas defined for the spurdog fishery.Fishers must have a permit to harvest spurdog and annual catch limits and a commercial quota are set. From May 2022, the annual catch limit for spurdog has been set at 14,454 tonnes and the commercial quota has been set at 13,408 tonnes. If the quota is fully harvested, then the commercial spurdog fishery will be closed, and, if the annual catch limit is exceeded, the exact amount by which it was exceeded will be deducted as soon as possible from the subsequent fishing year.Trip limits are also used to control the catch rate. The federal commercial trip limit for spurdog is 7500lb and only one trip may be made each calendar day. Some states mirror the federal trip limit, but states can set their own trip limits. There are no fish size limits.Under the multispecies (groundfish) regulations, there are four regulated mesh areas (RMA) that control the gear that can be used in each area: Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, Southern New England, and Mid-Atlantic. Within these RMAs, vessels fishing with gillnets and trawl gear must abide by minimum mesh sizes. This consists of a 6.5-inch minimum mesh size for square or diamond mesh for both trawl and gillnet gear in all RMAs. In the gillnet fishery, nets may not be longer than 91.4m in length.This rating is for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified spurdog in the Northwest Atlantic. This fishery has been certified since 2012. There were conditions on this fishery right interactions with both Atlantic Right Whales and Long-finned pilot whales, but these issues have been addressed and the conditions have since been closed. Currently (2024), there is a condition on certification that by the 4th annual surveillance audit (in 2027), it must be highly likely that direct effects of the gillnet fishery for dogfish and skates does not hinder the recovery of ETP Atlantic sturgeon.

Demersal longlines have minimal impact on the physical and biological habitat.Spurdog (commonly known as spiny dogfish in US fisheries) are found all along the Northwest coast from Labrador to Florida and are most abundant between Nova Scotia and Cape Hatteras. The main commercial fishing gears used to catch spurdog are sink gillnets (70% of landings), bottom longlines, and trawls. Spurdog are frequently caught as bycatch and discarded during groundfish operations.Spurdog is part of multi-species fisheries, under which it is not possible to determine and identify the vessels/trips/hauls targeting and landing spiny dogfish until the gear has been hauled. There are several measures and efforts in place that are intended to reduce bycatch and these include the Standardised Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) reports and the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) considerations.Species can be taken as bycatch is all gear types. These include small quantities species of crab, skate and shark, some of which are considered to be data deficient. In the longline fishery, there are not thought to be significant amounts of bycatch taking place. The longline fishery takes place near the bottom in very deep water and therefore, there is a low chance that sea birds or marine mammals are encountered when the gear is fishing at this depth. Encounters can occur when the hooks are hauled in or out and birds or marine mammals would be attracted by the bait of fish on the hooks.Demersal longlines have minimal impact on the physical and biological habitat. There is a chance of negative effects on sensitive habitats when their distribution overlaps with fishing areas, however, this effect does not cause critical damage to benthic communities. Some dragging and snagging is inevitable, however, it is less frequent and damaging than with demersal trawls and likely less than with bottom seines. In addition, as the ends of the lines are buoyed at the surface and only soak for relatively short periods of time, longlines are rarely lost, which also makes them less damaging than bottom-set nets.

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