Som,e of you New England folks might want to respond to the editor about this.
Nils
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Portland Press Herald - Editorial
Dogfish, dogfish everywhere, but not enough to catch
Fishermen have reasons to dislike them, but the species shouldn't be allowed to vanish.
April 10, 2008
? Can a species of fish be simultaneously too abundant and not plentiful enough?
That seems to be the problem with the dogfish, a small shark that is giving fishermen fits because, they say, it is crowding out the commercially valuable groundfish their livelihood relies upon.
Federal regulators and conservationists, on the other hand, say the species, once plentiful enough to be a productive resource itself, has not yet fully recovered from overfishing in the 1990s and needs continued protection.
The issue has become contentious because groundfishermen are hauling in more dogfish than cod and have to throw them back as bycatch instead of being able to sell them.
Even worse, they say, is the little shark's diet, which is partly composed of valuable species such as juvenile cod, hake and haddock, as well as smaller fish such as herring and mackerel those species eat.
But federal officials say dogfish still aren't plentiful enough to catch. There used to be a market for the fish in England, where it was popular as the aquatic half of a fish-and-chips lunch.
However, fishermen concentrated on catching females, which run 3 to 4 feet long and are larger than males, because they were more profitable.
That led to a decline in reproduction, producing a ban on commercial fishing and strict limits on bycatch.
While fishermen point to an increasing abundance of fish, regulators say the population has seven males for every female. That represents the grown males that are the survivors of the overfishing of females a decade ago. Officials say restrictions can't be lifted until the ratio becomes more equal.
That makes sense, even if it is hard on some commercial species and those who fish for them.
Copyright © 2008 Blethen Maine Newspapers
Nils
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Portland Press Herald - Editorial
Dogfish, dogfish everywhere, but not enough to catch
Fishermen have reasons to dislike them, but the species shouldn't be allowed to vanish.
April 10, 2008
? Can a species of fish be simultaneously too abundant and not plentiful enough?
That seems to be the problem with the dogfish, a small shark that is giving fishermen fits because, they say, it is crowding out the commercially valuable groundfish their livelihood relies upon.
Federal regulators and conservationists, on the other hand, say the species, once plentiful enough to be a productive resource itself, has not yet fully recovered from overfishing in the 1990s and needs continued protection.
The issue has become contentious because groundfishermen are hauling in more dogfish than cod and have to throw them back as bycatch instead of being able to sell them.
Even worse, they say, is the little shark's diet, which is partly composed of valuable species such as juvenile cod, hake and haddock, as well as smaller fish such as herring and mackerel those species eat.
But federal officials say dogfish still aren't plentiful enough to catch. There used to be a market for the fish in England, where it was popular as the aquatic half of a fish-and-chips lunch.
However, fishermen concentrated on catching females, which run 3 to 4 feet long and are larger than males, because they were more profitable.
That led to a decline in reproduction, producing a ban on commercial fishing and strict limits on bycatch.
While fishermen point to an increasing abundance of fish, regulators say the population has seven males for every female. That represents the grown males that are the survivors of the overfishing of females a decade ago. Officials say restrictions can't be lifted until the ratio becomes more equal.
That makes sense, even if it is hard on some commercial species and those who fish for them.
Copyright © 2008 Blethen Maine Newspapers
