Biology and Management of Dogfish Sharks

28. Status of Spiny Dogfish in Atlantic and Pacific Canada

Scott S. Wallace, Gordon A. McFarlane, Steven E. Campana, and Jackie R. King

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874073.ch29

Abstract.—In this paper we summarize recent trend and management information relevant to the status of Canada’s Atlantic and Pacific populations of spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias. Information includes current distribution, migration and movements, biological and abundance trends, status in adjacent jurisdictions, and current commercial catch and management. Based on annual research surveys, the dogfish population on the Atlantic coast appears to be at a low level of abundance on Georges Bank but stable or possibly increasing along the Scotian Shelf region and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Off Canada’s Pacific coast, indicators suggest that the population is stable; but there may have been a decrease in larger individuals in recent years. It is proposed that the recent increases in large individuals in Alaska may be linked to a shift in the core distribution of dogfish from Canada’s Pacific waters.