Among the goals of an experimental fishery would be to develop gear and fishing methods that target males rather than females, and that reduce bycatch. The plan implemented Monday includes permit and reporting requirements, a process for adjusting plan measures and dividing the annual quota between two seasons, and a rebuilding schedule. A separate action will establish the annual quota and trip limits for the fishing year beginning May 1. Dogfish are a small shark, with a life span of more than 35 years. Females mature at about 12 years of age and gestate young for nearly two years, producing litters of 6 to 18 pups.
Females become larger than males and have been the target of the fishery for that reason.
The market opened for U.S. dogfish in the late 1980s, owing to a rapid decline of the European dogfish stocks because of a targeted fishery.