An unprecedented alliance of commercial, recreational and party/charter boat fishermen and associated businesses has formed Fishermen Organized for Rational Dogfish Management (FORDM). FORDM has requested assistance from Dr. Jane Lubchenco, newly appointed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration head, in dealing with an out-of-balance population of highly predatory spiny dogfish that is depleting other Northeast and Mid-Atlantic fisheries. Scientists estimate their biomass at up to four billion pounds.
The classic Fishes of the Gulf of Maine says of this shark species, ‘voracious almost beyond belief, the dogfish entirely deserves its bad reputation.
Not only does it harry and drive off mackerel, herring, and even fish as large as cod and haddock, but it destroys vast numbers of them… they prey on practically all species of Gulf of Maine fish smaller than themselves.’ Spiny dogfish can exceed 5 feet in length.