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Scientific name
Scyliorhinus stellaris (Scopoli, 1786)
Morphology
Belonging to the shark family, the greater spotted dogfish is actually medium-sized, around 1 meter. The dogfish's body is dotted with large black spots. Its back is sandy, while its belly is whitish. Its rounded nose has highly visible nasal openings. The eyes are oval. It can reach 2 meters in the Atlantic and 1.50 meters in the Mediterranean.
Fishing spots
Dogfish are found throughout France, in the North Sea, English Channel, Atlantic and Mediterranean. This fish is often found near rocks (heads and plateaus), on sandy ridens and flat sandy and/or gravelly bottoms.
Fishing techniques
Dogfish like a piece of oily fish on the bottom. Mackerel or sardines seem to be the most attractive baits. Tie them with fine elastic thread for a better hold on the hook. Use a rod with a sensitive tip to detect dogfish bites on landing. Allow the fish to engulf the bait and only strike when the tip begins to bend slightly.
It can be caught from the landing, from the drift, from the tenya and from the shore by surfcasting.
Reproduction
It reproduces from 84 cm. As with other sharks, baby dogfish are born autonomous, here measuring 10 cm.
Size and weight
The average size of the greater spotted dogfish is between 0.80 and 1.20 m. The world record is 5.285 kg (Guérande, Pays de Loire, 08/05/2002). Scientific data suggest a maximum size of 2 m for 25 kg.
Good to know
Dogfish include 15 species of the genus Scyliorhinus (Blainville, 1816), 2 of which are found on our coasts: the small and large dogfish.
