Specialty Fish

Dogfish / Market Overview

Dogfish (Squalus acanthias)

In the late 1980s, the dogfish fishery developed rapidly: International markets opened due to a rapid decline in European dogfish stocks.

By 1998, Spiny dogfish were classified as overfished and the targeted dogfish fishery was ended in order to rebuild the stock. In 2000, the Spiny Dogfish FMP was implemented, establishing management of Atlantic spiny dogfish fisheries and initiating stock rebuilding.

Spiny dogfish continue to be managed conservatively through a low fishing mortality rate target and no directed fishery in federal waters. Small-scale directed fisheries in state waters are permitted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

As of 2008, spiny dogfish are estimated to be above the target biomass level.

For more up-to-date industry information, visit http://www.nefmc.org/dogfish

Facts

Atlantic Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) is one of the world’s most abundant species of shark. They are slim, with a narrow, pointed snout and characteristic white spots. Part of both their common and scientific names comes from the sharp spines on their dorsal fins that deliver venom.

Atlantic dogfish range in the western N. Atlantic from Greenland to Argentina, but are most abundant from Nova Scotia to Cape Hatteras. They also reside in the East Atlantic from Iceland and northern Russia to South Africa. They are highly migratory and swim in large schools, often near the bottom but also mid-water and at the surface.

Males live up to 35 years and females live up to 40 years; males grow up to 3 ½ feet and females up to 4 feet. Top-level predators, dogfish take on whatever prey is available, from crustaceans to fish.