Dolphinfish Management Strategy Evaluation At-A-Glance

February 16, 2024

Learn about the dolphinfish management strategy evaluation process.

Outreach Materials |

Southeast

Project Overview

Scientists from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center and North Carolina State University are undertaking a management strategy evaluation (MSE) to develop an indicator-based or ‘empirical’ management procedure for dolphinfish (also known as mahi mahi) in the South Atlantic U.S.

Current Dolphin Management

Allowable Biological Catch is based on the third highest landings from 1994 - 2007.

“The Dolphin Wahoo Fishery Management Plan was developed to maintain existing harvest levels of dolphin, including the historical allocation between recreational and commercial fisheries, and ensure that no new fisheries develop.” (SAFMC)

Allowable Biological Catch = Annual Catch Limit (ACL) = 24,570,764 pounds whole weight (Amendment 10)
Recreational allocation = 93% of total Annual Catch Limit (sector ACL = 22,850,811 pounds whole weight)
Commercial allocation = 7% of total Annual Catch Limit (sector ACL = 1,719,954 pounds whole weight)

Recreational Regulations:
Area	Minimum Size	Bag Limit	Vessel Limit
Atlantic Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (North Carolina - Maine)	None	10 fish per person; not to exceed vessel limit	54 fish (excluding headboats)
Atlantic EEZ (Florida - South Carolina)	20 inches fork length	10 fish per person; not to exceed vessel limit	54 fish (excluding headboats)

Commercial Regulations:
Area	Minimum Size	Vessel Limit
Atlantic EEZ (North Carolina - Maine)	None	No initial trip limit Trip limit once 75% of commercial sector ACL is landed = 4,000 pounds whole weight for permitted vessels Trip limit for non-permitted vessels north of 39° N = 200 pounds dolphin and wahoo combined
Atlantic EEZ (Florida - South Carolina)	20 inches fork length

The dolphin fishery is federally unregulated within the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Challenges with Current Management Approach

Dolphinfish are highly migratory and have an international distribution
The stock is data limited with no stock assessment
The species is short-lived and environmentally driven productivity
There has been static management in the past
There are regional differences in management objectives
U.S. management is limited to the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone along the U.S. Atlantic Coast

Proposed Solutions

An empirical (indicator-based) management procedure will allow for adaptive management
In years where more dolphinfish are available to the fishery, catch limits should increase while in years where less dolphinfish are available to the fishery, catch limits should decrease.
Developing spatial management options for equitable opportunity across states or regions
Providing allocation options to achieve multiple competing objectives

Dolphinfish Fishery Landings Statistics and Environmental Trends

A graph shows that landings of dolphinfish have been highly variable from 1990-2021 — Commercial and recreational dolphinfish landings, in millions of pounds, from the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for the U.S. Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico. Note that these data are reflective of the allocation scheme implemented by Dolphin Wahoo Amendment 10 (effective May 2, 2022).

See the updated landings figure on the Dolphinfish Management Strategy Evaluation in the U.S. Atlantic web page for an updated version reflecting post-Amendment 10 allocations

A graph shows that recreational catch of dolphinfish have been highly variable from 1990-2021 — Recreational dolphinfish catch, in millions of fish, by sector (for-hire versus private, top graph) and by region for the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and New England, South Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico (bottom graph).

A graph shows that commercial landings of dolphinfish have been highly variable from 1987-2019 — Commercial dolphinfish landings, in millions of pounds whole weight, for the U.S. Atlantic compared between longline and other gears.

A graph shows average annual sea surface temperature from 1985 to present, with temperatures being significantly higher since 2015. Map on right shows the U.S. South Atlantic water temperatures in color, with mid-temp water near the Atlantic coast and warm waters surrounding Florida and out into the Atlantic up to North Carolina — Average annual sea surface temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit; left plot) and a map showing the same data spatially for the U.S. South Atlantic. Warmer colors indicate higher temperatures, while cooler colors indicate lower temperatures.

Definitions

Management procedure — a predefined decision rule that adaptively specifies how a resource is managed as the size of the resource changes as measured by ongoing data collection

Empirical management procedure — empirical (or indicator-based) management procedure uses an indicator of stock abundance, usually an index of abundance, to adjust catch advice. This is in contrast to a model-based management procedure, wherein population dynamics models (stock assessment and projections) are used to estimate stock status and thereby determine management advice

Management strategy evaluation (MSE) — a framework in which management procedures are developed and “torture-tested” to ensure that they are robust to stock and fishery uncertainties and maximize the management objectives of the system

Management objectives — quantitatively defined management goals of the stock and fishery that are typically stakeholder-defined and used to measure the performance of candidate management procedures

For More Information

Contact Cassidy Peterson at cassidy.peterson@noaa.gov or (910) 708-2686.

Last updated by Southeast Fisheries Science Center on 02/16/2024

Highly Migratory Fish

Dolphinfish Management Strategy Evaluation At-A-Glance

Project Overview

Current Dolphin Management

Recreational Regulations:

Area

Minimum Size

Bag Limit

Vessel Limit

Commercial Regulations: