Framework Adjustment 15 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan/Framework Adjustment 6 to the Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan
Summary
NOAA Fisheries is proposing to approve, and implement through regulations, measures included in Framework Adjustment 15 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan/Framework Adjustment 6 to the Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan, which the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils jointly adopted and submitted to NMFS for approval. This action would establish area-based gear requirements for vessels fishing in the monkfish and spiny dogfish fisheries with gillnets in order to reduce bycatch of Atlantic sturgeon in these fisheries.
These measures are:
- A requirement for vessels fishing on a monkfish day-at-sea (DAS) within the New Jersey Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Area to use low-profile gillnet gear, beginning on January 1, 2026;
- A prohibition for dogfish vessels fishing in the New Jersey Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Area from leaving gillnet gear in the water overnight (8:00 am to 5:00 pm ET) during the months of May and November, effective 30 days from publication of the Final Rule; and
- A prohibition for dogfish vessels fishing in the Delaware and Maryland Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Area and Virginia Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Area from leaving gillnet gear in the water overnight (8:00 am to 5:00 pm ET) from November through March, effective 30 days from the publication of the Final Rule.
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This action is necessary to minimize bycatch of Atlantic sturgeon in the monkfish and spiny dogfish fisheries to the extent practicable and fulfill requirements of the Biological Opinion on Ten Fishery Management Plans in the Greater Atlantic Region and the New England Fishery Management Council’s Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2.