Spiny dogfish

The latest assessment of any fishery targeting a spiny dogfish species was in 2018.

Many shark species are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as vulnerable or endangered. For most species, landings have been declining for decades and sharks are overfished worldwide. Sharks are sensitive to fishing pressure: they grow slowly, produce few young and reach sexual maturity late. As a result, populations recover only slowly. Many species can also live for several decades and are particularly vulnerable during the breeding season, when they gather in groups.

Sharks are rarely targeted and are mainly caught as bycatch in fisheries, particularly with bottom longlines, but also with demersal otter trawls, Danish seines, anchored gillnets, drift gillnets, handlines and pole-lines. Although some of these fishing methods are more selective than others, none is currently considered a responsible choice for spiny dogfish (Squalus spp.), as the global status of this group is concerning.

The large-scale removal of top predators from the food chain is likely to affect the marine ecosystem, although relatively little is known about these effects. In the EU, shark finning has been prohibited since 2003, but enforcement remains a concern. The European Commission has developed a shark action plan to improve shark protection. International fisheries organisations also recognise the issue of shark bycatch, but additional measures remain limited for now. According to ICES, fishing for species including spiny dogfish should be stopped.