The commercial monkfish fishery is conducted from North Carolina to Maine primarily using trawl gear in northern waters and gillnet gear in southern waters.
The fishery is managed using a days-at-sea and trip limit management system. There is no known directed recreational fishery for monkfish.
Implementing regulations are found at 50 CFR part 648 subpart F. Find out more about Managing Sustainable Fisheries in the Greater Atlantic Region.
Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) reports are documents or sets of documents that summarize the best scientific information available for federally managed fish stocks. This includes information concerning the biological condition of stocks and marine ecosystems, essential fish habitat (EFH), and the socioeconomic condition of commercial and recreational fisheries. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires that SAFE reports be made available on a publicly accessible website to facilitate use of the information. Monkfish SAFE report documents are available on the New England Fishery Management Council's website.