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Today, NOAA Fisheries published a Final rule to implement Framework 15 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan/Framework 6 to the Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan.
Developed jointly by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, this action sets area-based measures in the monkfish and spiny dogfish gillnet fisheries designed to reduce bycatch of Atlantic sturgeon, an Endangered Species Act-listed species.
Effective May 1, 2025:
- Dogfish vessels fishing in the New Jersey Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Area are prohibited from leaving gillnet gear in the water overnight (defined as 8:00 p.m. through 5:00 a.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST)), during May and November; and
- Dogfish vessels fishing in the Delaware and Maryland and Virginia Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Areas are prohibited from leaving gillnet gear in the water overnight (defined as 8:00 p.m. through 5:00 a.m., EST) from November through March.
Effective January 1, 2026:
- Vessels on a Monkfish Day-at-Sea and using gillnet gear with a mesh size greater than or equal to 10 inches in the New Jersey Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Area are required to use low profile gillnet gear.
For more information, including coordinates of the gear restricted areas, read the final rule as published in the Federal Register or the bulletin posted on the web. More information is also available here.
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