Spiny dogfish shark Conservation
Due to their long gestation period and the low number of pups they give birth to at a time, the Spiny dogfish must be managed carefully. This species is extremely vulnerable to overfishing and is currently on the brink of collapse. Commercial fishermen target mature females because they grow to larger sizes than males. This was in response to heavy fishing that devastated Spiny dogfish populations during the 1990s. In late 2000, a fishery management plan for the Spiny dogfish began to develop, followed by its approval in November 2002. Federal and state recovery plans are currently in place but are continually challenged. The National Marine Fisheries Service, with new data predicting the collapse of the Spiny dogfish populations, closed federal waters to Spiny dogfish fishing in July 2003.