Earlier this year Defra reopened the UK Spurdog fishery to commercial fishing. Recognising that the female breeding stock needed to be protected to give the fishery longevity they restricted the slot size to 100cm.

To understand the significance of this you need to know that female Spurdog do not reach sexual maturity until they are around 15 years old and that their pregnancy lasts for up to two years. The younger female Spurdog have smaller pups which have a low survival rate but as the females get older and larger, their pup sizes increase and so does their survival rate.  A 100cm female Spurdog is around 20 years old whereas a 120cm female Spurdog is around 40 years old and her pups have a significantly increased survival rate. 

We were therefore very surprised when we heard recently that Defra are now considering a request from the commercial sector to increase the maximum landing size to 120cm.

The recreational angling community regularly access the smaller shark fishery on a catch and release basis and it represents a revenue stream which our recreational charter skippers and coastal communities rely on.

The situation was discussed at a recent Pat Smith Database trustee meeting where it was agreed unanimously that our smaller sharks (Spurdog, Smoothound, Bull Huss and Tope) need our protection as much as their larger cousins (Blue, Porbeagle, Thresher).

Our sport has a seat at the Fisheries Management table but if we don’t use this opportunity to make our views known we will be sidelined by the other players so as a first step we have decided to send a letter to the Fisheries minister signed jointly by as many charter skippers, angling clubs and angling related organisations as possible.

If you would like to be a signatory and help protect the fishery from future closure please get in contact  with the Pat Smith Database at [email protected]

Anglers, Angling clubs and Charter boat skippers are encouraged to contact their local MP to raise awareness of the issues and the urgent need to protect these small sharks for over fishing.

Letter sent to Selaine Saxby on behalf of CMSAC

Dear Selaine Saxby,

You may already be aware that Defra recently opened the UK spurdog fishery this year.  With spurdog having a low, even negligible commercial value in the UK, this was a decision I found difficult to understand but recent events are even stranger. It has now come to the attention of the recreational sea angling sector that Defra are considering a request from the commercial sector to increase the slot size to 125cm from its current level of 100cm. This will allow the targeting of larger spurdog which will predominately be female.

To understand the significance of this you need to know that female spurdog do not reach sexual maturity until they are around 15 years old and that their pregnancy lasts for two years. The younger female spurdog have smaller pups which have a low survival rate but as the females get older and larger, their pup sizes increase and so does their survival rate.

In short this species have a very challenging reproductive cycle that requires the female stock to be given protection. Targeting the female breeding stock will, as we have witnessed previously, lead to the demise, and perhaps even closure of the fishery once again.

The RSA sector, who contribute £1.5 billion to the UK economy, access the spurdog fishery on a catch and release basis which provides a much needed revenue stream for recreational sea angling charter skippers and their local coastal communities. Continued access to this fishery requires it to be managed in a sustainable manner which is not consistent with a slot size increase.

We believe that Defra do understand the needs of the fishery as Mark Spencer MP was quoted as saying, 

“The UK and EU will also prohibit landings of spurdog over 100cm in length to discourage the targeting of larger females and provide protection for the breeding stock” (source Communications and Management for Sustainability – April 2023)

Having made these comments its difficult to understand why Defra are even considering an increase in slot size for spurdog.

For the reasons above I am requesting your support to ensure that the slot size remains at 100cm. If Defra are of the opinion that it is correct to allow an increase in slot size then I am asking to see the scientific evidence which confirms that increasing the slot size will not damage the breeding stock within the fishery. In the absence of this evidence then in my opinion the precautionary principle, as stated in the Fisheries Act (2020) should apply.

I look forward to your urgent response

Your Sincerely,