Dogfish and Sharks Sharks are well known for their razor-sharp teeth and aggressive eating habits, but they are often overlooked as food. Inshore anglers are not likely to encounter large sharks, but they are quite likely to hook a dogfish or other small shark. A considerable amount of confusion and myth is associated with different kinds of sharks, not all of which are used for food. Offshore anglers may encounter larger species, such as blacktip, blue, and thresher sharks. The mako shark, sandbar shark, spiny dogfish, and smooth dogfish are the most commonly encountered species used for food.
Sharks are Elasmobranch fish.
Their skeletons are made of cartilage instead of bones. Because sharks must swim continually to stay afloat and obtain oxygen, they die quickly out of the water. They also differ from bony fish in that they maintain a high concentration of urea, a metabolic waste product, in their bodies. After the shark dies, urea can quickly degrade to ammonia, causing shark meat to develop off odors and flavors. Dogfish are the most common edible sharks found close to the shore in northern and mid-Atlantic waters.