Pacific spiny dogfish research

squalus suckleyi

Spiny dogfish (Squalus suckleyi) have historically been a shark species of great commercial importance for British Columbia. As early as 1870, spiny dogfish were fished commercially and spiny dogfish liver and body oil was used extensively for industrial lubricants and a source of Vitamin A. After the second world war, synthetic sources of Vitamin A replaced spiny dogfish products. Since 1975 spiny dogfish has been sought after as a source of food for European and Asian markets.

In the north Pacific, spiny dogfish are distributed from California to Alaska, along the Aleutian chain to the Asian coast and south to Japan. Commercial fisheries targeting spiny dogfish predominantly take place off the coast of British Columbia and Washington State. They are a slow growing fish which can live more than 80 years and attain sizes in excess of 130 cm in length. They also have an extraordinarily long gestation period of 22 months (longer than the gestation period of the Asiatic elephant!). Spiny dogfish are capable of impressive migration distances. An extensive tagging project by DFO undertaken from 1978 to 1988 found that spiny dogfish tagged off the west coast of Canada migrate as far as the coasts of Japan and Mexico (1).

In 2010, the Pacific population of spiny dogfish was recognized as a distinct species from the Atlantic population, and Squalus suckleyi was adopted as the new taxonomic name for Pacific spiny dogfish. Previously, Pacific spiny dogfish were considered the same species as Atlantic spiny dogfish, under the name Squalus acanthias. They are now recognized as distinct species due to significant morphological and genetic differences.

Current Research

Recent concern regarding the status of spiny dogfish worldwide has reprioritized the assessment of the status of spiny dogfish. A full assessment is planned for 2009.

DFO has conducted various types of spiny dogfish studies in efforts to gather knowledge to develop appropriate management plans for this species. Longline research surveys have been conducted for spiny dogfish in the Strait of Georgia in 1986, 1989, and 2005 (3) to assess distribution and abundance in the Strait of Georgia. Recent research has provided further validation of age determination methods (2).

Publications

• McFarlane, G. A., J.R. King. 2003. Migration patterns of Spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) in the North Pacific Ocean. Fish. Bull. 101(2): 358-367.
• McFarlane, G.A., and King, J.R. 2009. Re-evaluating the age determination of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) using oxytetracycline and fish at liberty up to twenty years. In Biology, management and fisheries of spiny dogfish. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Md. In press.
• King, J.R., and McFarlane, G.A. 2009. Trends in abundance of spiny dogfish in the Strait of Georgia, 1980–2005. In Biology, management and fisheries of spiny dogfish. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Md. In press.
•  Proceedings of the Canada/US Information Session on Spiny Dogfish; 4 April 2003.
• Proceedings of the Maritimes Region Science Advisory Process on the Assessment of Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias); 14-15 November 2007. (CSAS pro - 2008/009)
• Proceedings of the Pacific Region Science Advisory Process for Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthius) in British Columbia, Canada; May 17, 2010 (CSAS Pro - 2011/071)
• Proceedings of the Regional Peer Review of the Northwest Atlantic Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias.) Framework and Assessment; January 20-21, 2014, and May 29, 2014 (CSAS Pro - 2015/061)
• The status of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias, Linnaeus) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (NAFO Division 4T) (38 p.) (CSAS resdocs - 1995/042)
• The status of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias, Linnaeus) in the Bay of Fundy, Scotian Shelf and southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (NAFO Divisions 4TVWX) in 1995 (p.27) (CSAS resdocs - 1996/075)
• Stock structure, life history, fishery and abundance indices for spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) in Atlantic Canada (CSAS resdocs - 2007/089)
• Preliminary Results from the September 2007 Bottom-trawl Survey of the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (CSAS resdocs - 2008/019)
• Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acantias) Assessment and Catch Recommendations for 2010 (CSAS ResDocs - 2011/034)
• Framework Assessment and 2013 Update using a Stage-based Population Model for Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) in the Northwest Atlantic (CSAS ResDocs - 2015/065)
• Assessment of Spiny Dogfish in Atlantic Canada
• Assessment of Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) in British Columbia in 2010 (CSAS SAR - 2010/057)
• Assessment of Spiny Dogfish in the Northwest Atlantic (CSAS sar - 2014/055)
• Northwest Atlantic Spiny Dogfish Stock Status Update Report (CSAS ScR - 2016/019)
• Northwest Atlantic Spiny Dogfish
• 1985 status report on 4VWX dogfish (Squalus acanthias) (CSAS resdocs - 1985/073)
• The Black Dogfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence