Spiny dogfish

Scientific: Squalus acanthias. English: Spiny dogfish, spur-dog, piked dogfish. Icelandic: Háfur. For more languages see the Marine Animal Dictionary.

Biology and distribution

The spiny dogfish is a medium sized dogfish; the largest measured in Icelandic waters was 114 cm. It can be found all around Iceland, but is rare in the cold waters of the north. It is usually a benthic fish over mud bottom on the continental shelf and slope, but is often also seen in the water column. It is highly migratory; individuals tagged in Norwegian and North American waters have been fished in Icelandic waters. The spiny dogfish is probably one of the most common dogfish species in the world, since it occurs world-wide, in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, in the southern as well as in the northern hemisphere. The spiny dogfish is a predator as most dogfishes and sharks are. It feeds on a variety of fishes as well as on benthic invertebrates.

Catch and fishing methods

A few hundred tonnes of spiny dogfishes were fished annually by foreign fleets when they operated in Icelandic waters. However, Icelandic catches have always been low, or around 100 tonnes in recent years. The spiny dogfish is in fact considered a pest by Icelandic fishermen, as other more valuable fish species disappear from the fishing grounds when the dogfish appears. The current catches are only bycatch in other fisheries, primarily gillnet fisheries off the southern coast during the summer months.

Stock status

Although the abundance of spiny dogfish is low in Icelandic waters compared to many bony fishes, this is still the most common shark species there. However, no information is available on the stock status of this species.

References and further information

References: (Jónsson & Pálsson, 2006).

For full citation and further information on the main species in general see this page

Hreiðar Þór Valtýsson, University of Akureyri