Lesser spotted dogfish in this area are data limited, with low resilience to fishing pressure. However, there is currently no concern for fishing pressure or biomass.
Route 2 (data limited) scoring has been applied to this rating due to the lack of reference points. The most recent assessment was published in 2025 by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). This species is also known as the small-spotted catshark. All catsharks are primarily taken as bycatch in trawl fisheries. Larger individuals may be used for human consumption, while smaller individuals are often used as bait in potting fisheries.
The lesser spotted dogfish has low resilience to fishing pressure. At present, fishing pressure remains below the FMSY proxy, and landings have steadily declined since 2017, dropping from 5,175 tonnes to 2,171 tonnes in 2024. As such, there is currently no concern for fishing pressure.
Stock size is monitored using a biomass index – Itrigger. Although biomass has fluctuated since the start of the timeseries in 2005, it surpassed Itrigger (0.68) in 2007 and has remained above this threshold since. Since 2021, stock size has shown a consistent upward trend. This trend is shown in biomass indices: Index A (mean of 2023-2024) is 1.43, compared with Index B (mean of 2020-2022) at 1.08. As the stock is increasing and remains above Itrigger, there is no concern for biomass.
ICES advice on landings follows the MSY approach. It is determined from the most recent advised landings (from 2025), adjusted by several factors: the ratio of Index A to Index B, the ratio of observed mean catch length to target mean catch length, a biomass safeguard, and a precautionary multiplier. A stability clause was also applied, limiting the increase in landings advice to 20%. As a result, advised landings rose from 3,984 tonnes in 2025 to 4,781 tonnes for both 2026 and 2027. Discard rates remain unquantified.
