Sicklefin Houndshark

About the Sicklefin Houndshark

The Sickle-fin houndshark is a rare species of houndshark, found only in western Australia, at depths between 110 and 200m/360.9 to 656.2 ft.

They’re ovoviviparous, which means animals that develop inside eggs that hatch inside the mother’s body, leading to a live birth. but the average litter size is unknown. They are 20-25cm/7.9 to 9.8 in at birth and reach maturity between 65 and 70cm/2 ft 1.6 in to 2 ft 3.6 in. The maximum total length for this species is at least 80cm/2 ft 7.5 in.

The Sickle-fin houndshark is at risk of being caught by trawling fisheries but as much of their natural range is permanently closed to trawling, they’re conservation status is currently “Least Concern”.

The species may be taken as incidental catch in the Western Australia Pilbara Fish Trawl Fishery; however, this fishery operates at depths shallower (50–110 m)164 to 360.9 ft than the range of this species. All individuals would be discarded as retention of sharks is prohibited in the Pilbara Fish Trawl Fishery and post-release mortality is unknown. There is no evidence of population decline and the species is not suspected to be close to reaching the population reduction threshold, and thus, the Sicklefin Hound Shark is assessed as Least Concern. The species is not used for its meat for human consumption though a small quantity of fins were reported in 2018–2019 from Hong Kong, i.e., four fins out of ~20,000 fins sampled. 

There are no species-specific conservation measures. However, all sharks and rays have been commercially protected since 2006 under Western Australian legislation, limiting commercial fishing vessels’ retention of sharks and rays, except those operating within the state-managed shark fishery (Evans and Molony 2010, Watt et al. 2021). The species receives significant refuge within the 200-m isobath due to a combination of spatial trawl closures and marine parks resulting in more than 90% of the habitat likely never trawled (Gaughan and Santoro 2021). 

Do you have images or videos of Sicklefin Houndsharks?
Submit them to [email protected].