Saving the Sand Sharks

I can remember being a kid on holiday at the Delaware beaches and asking about the sharks that fishermen would catch from the shore.  "That’s just a sand shark," I’d often hear.  Turns out that this generic term is used to describe a lot of different kinds of sharks, usually types of dogfish.  Today, the two main types of Atlantic dogfish – spiny and smooth – may still be disrespected, but are now of commercial value.  One has been seriously overfished, while the other could support a sustainable, commercial fishery (a rare thing for sharks), if restrictions come soon. 

Spiny dogfish are exceptionally slow-growing sharks whose meat is in demand for British fish and chips and German beer garden snacks.  Spiny dogfish females don’t reproduce until their teen years and then produce only about six young after a pregnancy of two years (!).  Ten years of unregulated fishing for pregnant females (because they grow larger and fetch higher prices than males) off the New England and Mid-Atlantic coast resulted in serious population damage that is now under repair through strict fishing limits.  European demand for dogfish remains strong, and fishing industry pressure to relax conservation measures for this underappreciated shark has never been higher.  In fact, Atlantic state limits still greatly exceed the levels advised by scientists.

At the same time, fisheries for smooth dogfish off the Mid-Atlantic region are growing.  This species is actually not really a dogfish but a "smoothhound," which grows quite rapidly for a shark.  Because they have a relatively high reproductive rate, smooth dogfish have the potential to support fisheries, if managed carefully.  At the moment, however, they’re the only commercially fished shark in the U.S. Atlantic that is not subject to fishing limits.  The good news is that there is support for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to begin regulating the smooth dogfish fishery.  This body will need to do a better job of following scientific advice than it has with the spiny dogfish to ensure a healthy future for the smooth dogfish and related fisheries.  You can help by writing to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (www.asmfc.org) and asking them to "do right by dogfish."

Photo: Spiny Dogfish, Getty Images

Post your questions for Sonja in the Comments section below.  She will be checking in to give you answers.

Comments

[Tim Newman]

I am fisherman from Long Island, New York and I must say dogfish of both varieties are nothing but a nuisance. Forget about getting a bait to the bottom in the early summer months, it will be devoured by a dog in minutes. I think we could use more harvesting of both species. Some days you just have to quit fishing and go home when the sonar screen displays a 100 foot solid column of hungry dogfish. It seems to me that the population (at least in my area) is out of control.

[Regina Waterblatt]

Hi, I was wondering if sharks are homosexual? I think that would be really cool. Once I thought I saw two boys sharks (I knew they were boys because of their large buttflaps) doing it, but I can't be sure. What does it look like when sharks do it? Do sharks mate for fun like dolphins?

[Beth Coleman]

Do sharks eat their young? Once I thought my own baby looked juicy. So young and tender. I can understand how a shark might feel the same way.

P.S. do sharks eat sand? that seems yummy too.

[Beth Coleman]

Do sharks eat their young? Once I thought my own baby looked juicy. So young and tender. I can understand how a shark might feel the same way.

P.S. do sharks eat sand? that seems yummy too.

[Rik]

Based on hearsay, I have told people for years that several species of sharks, mainly dogfish, were actually sold under the term of "cod" by the fishing industry, and used in items like fishsticks and fish and chips. I have been having a hard time finding evidence for the "cod" argument, but thanks for confirming for me that dogfish are used in one of the items I mentioned.

I guess when I eventually get to London, the classic fish and chips will one item I will be avoiding...

Rik

[Fred Smilek]

This was very informative.

Fred Smilek
Email- Fred_Smilek@yahoo.com
Webpage- http://sites.google.com/site/fredjsmilek/

Fred Smilek is the acting president of the Society to Save Endangered Species. It was founded in 2006 by Fred Smilek along with his two best friends Charles and Jonathan.