Harvest of shark species to be cut to avoid overfishing

BOSTON (AP) — Federal regulators say there will be a reduction this year in the harvest of a species of shark that is subject to commercial fishing.

Fishermen catch spiny dogfish from Maine to North Carolina on the East Coast for use as food, though there is a limited market for the shark in the United States. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says this year’s quota for the dogfish will be a little more than 20 million pounds, which is slightly less than fishermen have harvested in most recent years.

NOAA says the reduction in quota, which is nearly 50 percent from 2018, is important to make sure overfishing doesn’t occur. Quotas are slated to rise in 2020 and 2021 to levels that are higher than the size of the typical harvest.