482 
Fishery Bulletin 11 5(4) 
by Sosebee (2005) was completed, it is possible that 
the reductions in fecundity reflect environmentally con¬ 
trolled, density-dependent reproduction. 
This study was a regionally based study designed 
to determine whether spiny dogfish in the waters off 
SNE between Massachusetts and Rhode Island fol¬ 
low the pattern of those from the Gulf of Maine and 
other northwest Atlantic regions. Our sampling regime 
allowed for a more detailed examination of gestation 
than that which has previously been accomplished. Al¬ 
though this study was designed to be regional, we can¬ 
not ignore the fact that these fish migrate between the 
Gulf of Maine, SNE, and the mid-Atlantic (Rulifson et 
al. 8 ; Sulikowski et al., 2010). In fact, some recent sat¬ 
ellite tagging data indicate significant regional move¬ 
ments (Carlson et ah, 2014). Spiny dogfish located off 
SNE throughout the year may include components of 
both resident and migrating populations. This is in line 
with Campana et ah (2009), who also found resident 
and migratory populations in their study area off the 
coast of eastern Canada. 
Acknowledgments 
We thank all the commercial fishermen who collected 
the samples for this project. We also could not have 
completed this project without help from NMFS Coop¬ 
erative Research Program, particularly: K. Burchard, 
C. Alexander, B. Gervelis, E. Marchetti, and C. Sarro. 
We also appreciate the help of C. Flight and S. Chen in 
recording data. R. Guilmette and J. Tully were essen¬ 
tial for sample removal. We would also like to thank R. 
McBride and K. Sosebee for their thoughtful comments 
on our draft. 
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