Dogfish Mysteries

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klawnskale
Posts: 1211
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:09 pm

Dogfish Mysteries

Post by klawnskale »

I am no stranger to this species. In fact I have caught a few Smooth Dogfish while wreck fishing with my dad off the South Shore of Long Island. But what is it with people? They find a dead dogfish washed up on a beach or caught one and changed their minds about taking them home and having to clean it for consumption (they are edible)? First the dead smooth dogfish left on a subway train in Manhattan, New York City. Now I find a dead rotting Pacific Spiny Dogfish in a plastic shopping bag on a suburban street in my neighborhood. A stray mini poodle did the typical canid behavior and rubbed its body all over it to absorb the carrion's odor. I don't have a photo of the dogfish in the plastic bag, but here's a video clip of the smooth dogfish. I wish if people went fishing and they weren't sure about consuming a species that they would just throw it back so it can have a chance to perpetuate its species rather than take it to show their friends or their or gross their family out and dispose of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upOjUqW5274
VICtort
Posts: 691
Joined: July 2nd, 2010, 6:48 pm
Location: AZ.

Re: Dogfish Mysteries

Post by VICtort »

I agree with you, but in my misspent youth friends and I pitched one into the high school pool, it seemed funny at the time, and Yes, we HBD. Similar to your video link, they were desperate for news and printed it as an obituary in high school newspaper. :crazyeyes:

Spiny dog fish are fascinating creatures on the west coast. At times they are a plague to salmon trollers, and may be hooked a dozen at a time. I have had hordes of them kill a productive salmon bite, they come up at dusk. They are occasionally marketed, but these long lived fish may have high mercury levels. I release them, and marvel at their intense greenish glowing eyes. They are shy and wary when approached by divers in my experience. I am told they are super abundant in some areas, apparently filling the empty void/niche when other sought after fishes are long term over harvested. Vic
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