Endangered shark being sold as ‘rock salmon’ at fish and chip shops, report says

Spiny dogfish ‘commonly used in Europe as the fish in fish and chips’, says US agency

Saturday 07 September 2019 18:46 BST

Samples from popular seaside destinations contained spiny dogfish (Getty istock)

Unwitting customers are eating endangered species of shark when they buy fish and chips in the UK.

Shops were found to be selling spiny dogfish and starry smooth-hound sharks at popular seaside destinations.

Many chip shops sell spiny dogfish, a species which is endangered in Europe, as rock salmon, according to the Daily Mirror.

The newspaper conducted DNA testing on 15 samples from towns such as Bournemouth and Great Yarmouth.

Scientists found 10 examples of spiny dogfish and five of starry smooth-hound.

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Spiny dogfish stocks have suffered a serious decline in recent years, dropping by around 95 per cent in the north east Atlantic, where it is considered critically endangered.

The EU permits various species of shark to be labelled as “rock salmon” but the classification is rarely noticed by consumers.

Commercial fishing of spiny dogfish has been banned in the north east Atlantic since 2011.

But the sharks are often caught accidentally when other fish are targeted.

This is known as “bycatch” and is legal within the EU.

“Because spiny dogfish shoal in dense packs, they can be accidentally caught and killed in huge numbers as bycatch by trawlers targeting other species,” the Marine Conservation Society’s website reads.

“The UK is now considering piloting new reactive fishery methods to try and address the problem.

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“While it is illegal to land spiny dogfish in the EU, it is still legal to import it from other countries that permit capture, and so can still be traded in the UK, where it may still be sold as ‘rock salmon’.”

The US’ National Oceanic and Atomospheric Administration notes that the shark “is commonly used in Europe as the fish in ‘fish and chips.’”

Fishing of the species is hugely damaging because dogfish are slow to mature and have low reproduction rates.

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