Spiny dogfish

Many shark species are on the red list of the IUCNIUCN:
International Union for the Conservation of Nature, an international institute for nature and natural resources. It is a partnership with both non-governmental organizations and governments.  as vulnerable or endangered. Landings of most species are declining in the North Sea since 1970. Worldwide sharks are overfished. Sharks are vulnerable to overfishing because they grow slowly, have a low fecundity and reach sexual maturity late. Sharks can get very old, some species up to 40 years. They are more vulnerable during spawning season, because they school during that time.

Sharks are bycatch in most fisheries, but predominantly in longline fishery. The large-scale removal of apex predator out of the food-chain has probably an impact on the ecosystem, there is however little information about this concerning sharks.

In the EU it is since 2003 forbidden to fin sharks. This rule however is easy to evade. The European Commission has made a shark action plan with measures to better protect sharks. The international fishery management organisations acknowledge the problem of shark bycatch, but don’t really implement measures. According to ICESICES:
International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, an international organization dedicated to research and advice for a sustainable use of the oceans. , the fishery on amongst others spiny dogfish must be stopped.