 al. 1987); 11 cm (n=15) (Crozier unpub. data)). Smaller pups of 8–10 cm TL have been reported for the Adriatic (Marano et al. 2000).
This species feeds on small fishes, squids, and crustaceans (Compagno in prep.). The diet of E. spinax has been analysed as follows: crustaceans 74.8%, fishes 16.9%, cephalopods 6.9%, polychaetes 0.9% others 0.5% (Bello 1998, Cecchi et al. 2004). In the Rockall Trough in the Northeast Atlantic the diet of E. spinax was reported to consist mainly of benthopelagic organisms, with fish and crustaceans of secondary importance (Mauchline and Gordon 1983). Smaller specimens (<39 cm) of this species feed on mid-water fish that were completely absent from the stomachs of larger individuals. The differences in diet were thought to be partly due to prey selection and also because larger fish live at greater depths. In South Portugal a significant ontogenic variation in feeding ecology was observed, with specimens smaller than 17 cm TL feeding mainly on euphausiids, specimens from 17–27 cm TL feeding mainly on euphausiids and natant decapods and specimens larger than 27 cm TL feeding also on teleosts and cephalopods (Neiva et al. submitted). In Angolan waters, off the west African coast, the diet of this species has been described as follows: cephalopods (63%), crustaceans (33%) and teleosts (4%) (Zaera 2005).
This species is caught as a bycatch of bottom trawl fisheries and is known to be discarded by Italian (Abella and Serena 2002) and Spanish (Guallart 1990) fleets. Most specimens discarded are either dead or in very poor condition (J. Guallart pers. comm.). This species occurs at depths of 70–2,000 m, but mostly between 200–500 m in the Mediterranean. The main depth range of this species is within the range of Mediterranean fisheries. However, the ban on bottom trawling below depths of 1,000 m in the Mediterranean, adopted by all members of The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), will afford protection in the deeper part of its bathymetric range. This measure came into force in September 2005.
Etmopterus spinax is most abundant in the northeast Atlantic between 400 and 800 m and large mature female E. spinax are found in waters around 600 m. This may suggest that these mature sharks are being affected more by the commercial deep-water fisheries than other life stages of E. spinax that are found in shallower waters. Therefore it is suggested that this species may also be susceptible to heavy commercial fishing in the northeast Atlantic (Coelho 2007).
It is caught as bycatch in bottomtrawls fishing for Nephrops norvegicus and Pandalus borealis in the Skagerrak and Kattegat by Swedish fishermen. It has never been recorded in logbooks and most is probably discarded at sea. Off the south coast of Portugal (Algarve), this species is captured in high quantities as bycatch of the deep water fisheries that operate at these depths, namely the bottom trawl fishery that targets Norway Lobster (Nephrops norvegicus), Red Shrimp (Aristeus antennatus) and Deepwater Pink Shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris), and the near bottom longline fishery that targets European Hake (Merluccius merluccius), Conger Eels (Conger conger) and Wreck Fish (Polyprion americanus). In both fisheries, all captured specimens are discarded (Coelho et al. 2005a), and even though most are still alive when returned to sea, they usually have severe injuries (due to the long trawling periods or as a result of the hooks) that are likely to impair their survival.
Eastern Central and Southeast Atlantic
In general, very little is known of the threats that affect this species off the African coast. Off the Angolan coast, E. spinax is an uncommon species, captured rarely by bottom trawlers and always discarded. Where this species is common off Morocco (western Sahara), Mauritania, and Sierra Leone it is taken in trawls. However, catches are not recorded because of species identification problems and because this bycatch is discarded.
There are no species specific management measures. The General Fisheries Commission for the Me