The Starspotted Smooth-hound (Mustelus manazo) is a small (to 135 cm total length) shark that occurs in the Northwest and Western Central Pacific Oceans from Russia to Borneo.

Biology

Length: It reaches a maximum size of 135 cm total length (TL). Males mature at 55–92 cm TL and females mature at 60–97 cm TL. Size-at-birth of 20–35 cm TL.

Gestation Period: 11-12 (about 10) months.

Litter Size: 1-22 (average 5)

Life Expectancy: Female age-at-maturity is 3–7 years and maximum age is 17 years; generation length is therefore 11 years.

Diet: Feeds mainly on bottom invertebrates, also bony fishes.

Habitat and distribution

Habitat: Found in the intertidal zone, on mud and sand bottom. May also be found in semi-enclosed sea areas. 

Distribution: The Starspotted Smooth-hound occurs in the Northwest and Western Central Pacific Oceans from southern Russia to Borneo, including Japan, North and South Korea, China, Taiwan, Viet Nam, and the Philippines. It is also known from Kenya in the Western Indian Ocean. Records from elsewhere require further confirmation: it has been recorded in the Andaman Sea, Thailand; from Madagascar and from Bangladesh.

Depth: 1-360 m

Landing sites: Veraval

Commercial Value

The species is valued for its meat and fins. In Japan, the meat is flash boiled and sold as ubiki with mid-range market value in areas of southern Japan. Smaller individuals may be used for fish meal in Taiwan and China, and in the latter country, the meat is valuable and the species is also used for the liver oil. In Borneo, the meat it is consumed domestically and the fins are traded.

Threats 

The Starspotted Smooth-hound is subject to fishing pressure across its range. It was previously targeted and is now taken as bycatch in industrial and artisanal fisheries with multiple fishing gears including trawl, longline, set net, and gillnet. Trawls and longline operate across the entire depth range of this species, while the other net fisheries likely operate in its upper depth range. All incidental catch is retained for human consumption, fish meal and liver oil. There is a high level of fisheries resource use across the range of the Starspotted Smooth-hound.

References

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Taniuchi, T., Kuroda, N. and Nose, S. (1983) 
Age, growth, reproduction and food habit of the star-spotted dogfish, Mustelus manazo, collected from Choshi, Japan. [in Japanese]. Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 49(9): 1325-1334.

Weigmann, S. (2016) 
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Yamaguchi, A., Taniuchi, T. and Shimizu, M. (1998) 
Geographic variations in growth of the starspotted dogfish Mustelus manazo from five localities in Japan and Taiwan. Fisheries Science 64: 732-739.

Yamaguchi, A., Taniuchi, T. and Shimizu, M. (2000) 
Geographic variations in reproductive parameters of the starspotted dogfish Mustelus manazo from five localities in Japan and Taiwan. Environmental Biology of Fishes 57: 221-233.