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)

Notice of Availability   Proposed Rule   Final Rule