James RickardDogfish are for real!
May 27th 2009 00:59
Last year I got transferred into another department at work and ended up really hating my job. Still, in today's economy, I'm smart enough to realize that any job is better than no job and it would be suicidal to quit.
In order to cope, I put on my headphones and go to my "happy place."
One of the song in the mix I listen to is the B-52's first hit, "Rock Lobster." It's got that line "There goes a dogfish/ Chased by a catfish." I've often wondered about dogfish but it was low among my obsessions until last evening when I saw a guy drinking a Dogfish Brown Ale with his calzone. That's when I knew I had to break out the encyclopedia!
It turns out that dogfish are nothing more than a bunch of small sharks found in parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Mediterranean oceans. I never knew exactly what these things were but you've probably heard of them in one fashion or another because they're one of those pain in the neck species to commercial fishermen and end up being a by product of their catch, getting mixed in with all the good fish they're trying to net.
Although dogfish are even viewed as food, I didn't know they're eaten in Britain as an alternative to cod in fish and chips. Further, I had no idea you're actually eating dogfish when dining on "rock salmon." (Thank you Wikipedia!)
Dogfish are usually about a yard or meter long but can grow to around 5 feet which comes out to around a meter and a half. One really cool fact about dogfish is that certain varieties of the spices are bio luminescent-- meaning they actually glow by natural means. If you travel to the Gulf of Mexico you can stay up at night and find that one!
NOW, as a reward (or curse depending on your taste) for reading this far, here's an early clip from the B-52's doing a live version of "Rock Lobster."
In order to cope, I put on my headphones and go to my "happy place."
One of the song in the mix I listen to is the B-52's first hit, "Rock Lobster." It's got that line "There goes a dogfish/ Chased by a catfish." I've often wondered about dogfish but it was low among my obsessions until last evening when I saw a guy drinking a Dogfish Brown Ale with his calzone. That's when I knew I had to break out the encyclopedia!
It turns out that dogfish are nothing more than a bunch of small sharks found in parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Mediterranean oceans. I never knew exactly what these things were but you've probably heard of them in one fashion or another because they're one of those pain in the neck species to commercial fishermen and end up being a by product of their catch, getting mixed in with all the good fish they're trying to net.
Although dogfish are even viewed as food, I didn't know they're eaten in Britain as an alternative to cod in fish and chips. Further, I had no idea you're actually eating dogfish when dining on "rock salmon." (Thank you Wikipedia!)
Dogfish are usually about a yard or meter long but can grow to around 5 feet which comes out to around a meter and a half. One really cool fact about dogfish is that certain varieties of the spices are bio luminescent-- meaning they actually glow by natural means. If you travel to the Gulf of Mexico you can stay up at night and find that one!
NOW, as a reward (or curse depending on your taste) for reading this far, here's an early clip from the B-52's doing a live version of "Rock Lobster."
Until next time--watch your line and watch yourself!
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Comment by Ye-Ha
Culinary Hatchet
Did You Know This?
Wow, a "pain in the ass species," kind of like humans, huh? Doesn't deserve to live?
They get mixed in because the fisherman are Trawling/Dragging, Gillnetting or Purse Seining, which result in significant amount of bycatch as well as seafloor damage.
Bycatch includes sharks (you didn't mention that the Dogfish is a shark), dolphins, sea turtles, and juvenile fish.
These are practices that must either be be stopped or practiced more responsibly such as by adding turtle excluder devices and bycatch reduction devices to their nets, which allow sea turtles and unwanted fish to escape.
Please become more aware about unsustainable or harmful fishing practices by visiting Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch. They have a picture of what possibly could be a Dogfish right on the home page.
It turns out that I learned quite a bit about Dogfish because we accidentally caught one while sand dab fishing earlier this year.
When the guy reeled it up to the side of the boat the skipper gaffed it. As it lay there bleeding on the deck we discussed what to do with it. I figured that it was seriously injured from the gaff so why not eat it or use it for crab trap bait.
So they clubbed it and cut off the head. I'll never forget what i saw next.
A baby shark with an egg sack swam out. One of the guys picked it up and threw it in the water and it swam down out of sight.
When we looked in the shark we found 16 more of these. They were all released into the ocean.
When I got home I did my research on the internet.
Even though Dogfish are open to fishing for part of the year off California, this and sharks in general are becoming endangered.
This species is not only used in the popular British dish "fish and chips" it's marketed for its oil and as fish meal as well.
The spiny dogfish is a small schooling shark that forms groups of hundreds or thousands of individuals of the same sex and size. The spiny dogfish has an estimated life span of 25 to 30 years.
Spiny dogfish are slow to mature and must be managed carefully. This species is extremely vulnerable to overfishing and are currently on the brink of collapse. They have a long gestation period, produce small litters of pups, and are slow growing. Commercial fishermen target the mature females because they grow to larger sizes than males. Females don't reach sexual maturity until 12 years of age, giving birth to an average of 6 pups, but can be many more, after a 2-year gestation period. The dogfish fishery increased dramatically in the U.S. during the 1990s, resulting in a 75% reduction in mature females, leading to record low numbers of pups over the past seven years.
In 2001, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) voted to extend an emergency action that closes state waters to fishing for the vulnerable spiny dogfish. This was in response to heavy fishing that devastated dogfish populations during the 1990s. In late 2000, a fishery management plan for the spiny dogfish began to be developed, followed by its approval in November 2002. Federal and state recovery plans are currently in place but continually challenged. In mid 2003, the ASMFC held a vote on a motion to lower the spiny dogfish quota to a level supported by scientific data. However, this motion fails to achieve the required two-thirds majority. The National Marine Fisheries Service, with new stock assessment data predicting the collapse of the spiny dogfish population, closed federal waters to dogfish fishing in July 2003.
The National Marine Fisheries Service currently regulates shark fisheries, including the spiny dogfish, in federal waters; setting forth closures when quotas are reached for each shark species group (large coastal sharks, small coastal sharks, and pelagic sharks).
The spiny dogfish is considered as "Vulnerable" by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) due to intense fishing pressure. The IUCN is a global union of states, governmental agencies, and non-governmental organizations in a partnership that assesses the conservation status of species.
I know now that the developing pups were immature and couldn't live.
I also now know that when you hook a shark you should never remove it from the water because it damages their internal organs. Bring it to the side of the boat and cut the line as close to the hook as possible, without getting bit, of course. The hook can be left in it's mouth.
I hope that this changes your view of this "pain in the ass species."
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Comment by Ye-Ha
Culinary Hatchet
Did You Know This?
Comment by James Rickard
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
Check this out...
Comment by Ye-Ha
Culinary Hatchet
Did You Know This?
What I am saying is that if they don't fish responsibly, the fisheries will be destroyed and they won't be able to fish and we won't be able to eat fish.
Another problem the sharks have is that they are fished for their fins, have them cut off, and then they are thrown back in the water and left to die a slow death.
Why do I make a big deal? Because species don't get protected until they need protecting when their numbers get dangerously low and then some government steps in.
But, as consumer's, if we can spread the word, and get people to understand what goes on in the food industry and get people to act now simply by making some food source choices then we've empowered the individual consumer to drive the food industry to growing, producing, catching, etc. in sustainable and humane ways.
It's kinda sad that people will just run rampant and do things in the name of "making a living" or maximizing profits, eating a food because we really like it for whatever reason and it's really easy to buy it at the grocery store where we are so removed from how it came to be there.
I explain to people how their food came to be on their plate and some will respond by getting educated and changing their choices and some will blow me off.
But if we can get enough people to care that it starts affecting profits then we can start making positive changes.
Just so you know I am not some crazed PETA fanatic.
I eat beef, lamb, pork, poultry, eggs, and fish. I also have hunting and fishing licenses.
I just want us all to make sustainable, humane and healthy food choices.
When did food get so complicated and why is our food chain kept secret from us?
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