While not overfished, the Council has adopted a precautionary and risk-averse approach to management for this fishery.   The South Atlantic Council, in cooperation with the Mid-Atlantic and New England Councils, has developed a Dolphin Wahoo Fishery Management Plan for the Atlantic. 

Recognizing the significant importance of the dolphin wahoo fishery to the recreational fishing community in the Atlantic, the goal of the plan is to maintain the current harvest levels of dolphin and ensure that no new fisheries develop.  With the potential for effort shifts in the historical commercial longline fisheries for sharks, tunas, and swordfish, these shifts or expansions into nearshore coastal waters to target dolphin could compromise the historical (1994-1997) and current allocation of the dolphin resource between recreational and commercial fishermen.

Listing of Species and History of Management

Fishery Management Plan for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic (2003)

 

Appendices

 

Notice of Availability   Proposed Rule   Final Rule

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comprehensive Annual Catch Limit Amendment (Under Development)

The amendment will meet the mandates of the Magnuson-Stevens Act to establish Annual Catch Limits (ACLs) and Accountability Measures (AMs) for species managed by the Council that are not undergoing overfishing by the end of 2011.  The amendment addresses a number of species in the snapper grouper management complex, as well as dolphin (mahi-mahi), wahoo, and golden crab.  Other species, such as king and Spanish mackerel, cobia, and spiny lobster are being addressed in separate amendments.    

Draft Environmental Impact Statement (with appendices)