PORTLAND (AP) — Fishing regulators are going to allow fishermen to catch more smooth dogfish, a species of increasing interest in commercial fisheries.
The seafood industry has been trying to find new markets for the dogfish in recent years. Catch of the East Coast sharks has been consistent, but they aren’t recognized by many U.S. consumers and are of low economic value.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission says the smooth dogfish quota for 2017 will be nearly 4 million pounds. The quota for 2016 was a little more than 2.6 million pounds.
Fishermen don’t typically catch that many pounds of smooth dogfish per year.
The catch is usually in the 1 million to 2 million pound range. But regulators say the species is not overfished, and can withstand a higher fishing quota.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less