SECTION 1 



Smooth Dogfish {Mustelus oanis) 



Life History Summary 



The smooth dogfish inhabits the coastal waters of the western Atlantic 

 from Cape Cod to Uruguay. In the Northwest Atlantic, it occurs most 

 abundantly from Cape Cod to North Carolina (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953). The 

 smooth dogfish is a bottom-dwelling shark, usually taken in less than 18 m of 

 water, although it has been caught at depths of 165 m. The population 

 migrates north and south seasonally in response to changing bottom water 

 temperatures. In the summer, smooth dogfish are abundant in inshore waters 

 from Oel aware Bay to the southeastern end of Cape Cod, where they enter into 

 bays and estuaries and occasionally freshwater reaches of the coast. Smooth 

 dogfish have also been caught along the outer edge of the continental shelf 

 off New York and southern New England during the summer months. Beginning in 

 late October and November, smooth dogfish north of Chesapeake Bay withdraw 

 from their summering grounds and migrate southward. They spend the winter 

 insnore along the coast of North Carolina and on the offshore fishing banks 

 off southern Virginia. Although considerable numbers of smooth dogfish may be 

 found off the coast of North Carolina until July, most of the population has 

 returned to its northern summering grounds by May. 



The smooth dogfish is not popular as a food fish in the U.S. and is not 

 utilized commercially or recreational ly. It is considered a nuisance species 

 because it feeds primarily on large valuable crustaceans such as lobsters and 

 crabs, as well as on other invertebrates and small fishes, and readily takes 



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