Whitefin Dogfish

About the Whitefin Dogfish

The Centroscyllium Ritteri, or Whitefin Dogfish, is a little-known dogfish found in temperate waters of the northwest Pacific Ocean, endemic to Japan. This demersal deepwater species can be found on the slope between 150 to 1,100 metres deep.

They are known to reach a maximum length of 43 cm. Maturity of females are at 42 to 43 cm long and reproduction is presumably ovoviviparous.

Conservation and Tourism

This species is not targeted directly by fisheries and when caught as bycatch they are likely to be thrown back because of their small size (discard survival rates are probably very low to nil though). However, deepwater sharks in this region are vulnerable to a localized fishery in Suruga Bay, Japan for their squalene rich-livers.

There are no conservation actions in place for the Whitefin Dogfish and like other deepwater species, more data is needed, especially as deepwater fisheries expand worldwide.

Do you have images or videos of Whitefin Dogfishs?
Submit them to info@sharkwater.com.