Be better than the past – The Spiny Dogfish

Sharks are one of the oldest species on the planet. Feared by most humans due to media reports and movies over the years, sharks in my humble diving opinion have gotten a bad rap. Not all sharks are people eaters and they certainly don’t come flying out of a sharknado!

Growing up on Vancouver Island I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time on the ocean, fishing, surfing and snorkeling. Most weekends I’d go out fishing for salmon or rockfish with my grandfather. Quite often when trolling for salmon we would get a strike and must to my grandfathers chagrin we would land a dogfish. The amount of displeasure my family members had for this cool animal amazed me. I loved the fact we saw a shark. But to them, the sharks were a nuisance, a threat to catching salmon, something that had no value. Most often someone on the boat would slice open the belly of the shark and throw the live animal back in, this was done so that it was get eaten by the other sharks and there would be one less shark in the ocean. In hind sight these actions made a huge impact on me as a child and those memories have stuck with me to this day.

As a diver and photographer I wish here were more sharks and marine life to see. In my short amount of time on this planet I have seen marine life stocks decline through visiting the same dive sites and photographing the animals that live there.

For me seeing a shark in the wild is a unique and exciting event. Sharks are rare in our waters now a days, especially the Spiny Dogfish.

Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) are small coastal sharks, which are member of the second largest shark order known as Squaliformes. In this order there are seven families, and at least 130 species. These fish inhabit the colder waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans from the shallows to nearly 700 meter (2400 ft.) deep. In the Pacific, Spiny Dogfish range from the Bering Sea to Baja California, with greatest abundance along the coast of British Columbia and Washington. During the summer months, divers will frequently encounter these sharks in the shallows hunting for a meal.

All dogfish have a slender, cylindrical, and slightly flattened body type. No member of this family has an anal fin, and all species have two dorsal fins with spines.

Photographing Spiny Dogfish can be a challenge. Curious by nature these fish can be very skittish and they will dart away if they feel even slightly threatened. Let them come to you and give them plenty of personal space.

As someone who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s I saw a lot of questionable fishing and environmental practices that in todays and age are completely unacceptable. Things are perfect but they are getting better. Pacific Spiny Dogfish are becoming rarer and rarer and have found themselves on and off fishing lists and endangered species over the years.

If you’re lucky enough to encounter one, make every second count because you may not get another encounter.

Thanks for reading

Scott

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