Observations on spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) captured in late spring in a North Carolina estuary

Abstract

Five spiny dogfish were captured in early-mid May during gillnet and longline sampling targeting juvenile coastal sharks in inshore North Carolina waters.  Dogfish captures were made within Back Sound and Core Sound, North Carolina.  All dogfish were females over the size at maturity, and were caught at stations 1.77-2.74 m in depth, with temperatures 22.9-24.2 °C, 32.8-33.4 ppt salinity, and 6.9-8.0 mg/L dissolved oxygen.  Stations where dogfish were captured were approximately 6.5-15.7 km from the nearest inlet and 43.4-247.1 m from the nearest seagrass bed.  These observations are among the latest in the spring for spiny dogfish in the southeastern U.S. and occurred at higher temperatures than previously recorded for this species.  It is unclear whether late-occurring spiny dogfish in this area represent a cryptic late-migrating or resident segment of the Northwest Atlantic population.