as "huss", and previously as "rock salmon" until the term was outlawed. In France, they are sold as "small salmon" (saumonette) and in Belgium and Germany as "sea eel" (zeepaling and Seeaal, respectively). In Greece, all small dogfish are commercially called galéos, after the critically endangered Galeorhinus galeus that produces a seasonal dish; other small sharks such as the spiny dogfish substitute it. Spiny dogfish bodies are ground into fertilizer, liver oil and pet food. Because of their availability, cartilaginous skulls and small sizes, they are popular vertebrate dissection specimens in high schools and universities. Reported catches varied between 31,700 tonnes in 2000 and 13,800 tonnes in 2008. Bottom trawlers and sink gillnets are the primary tools. In Mid-Atlantic and Southern New England fisheries, they are often caught with larger groundfish, classified as bycatch, and discarded. Recreational fishing accounts for an insignificant portion of the spiny dogfish catch. The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance promotes sustainable use of the dogfish in restaurants and fish markets in the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts, as of 2017, paid for by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. It aims to persuade diners to buy less-popular fish. Conservation status and management Once the most abundant shark species in the world, populations of Squalus acanthias have declined significantly. They are classified in the IUCN Red List of threatened species as Vulnerable globally and Critically endangered in the Northeast Atlantic, meaning stocks around Europe have decreased by at least 95%. This is a direct result of overfishing to supply northern Europe's taste for rock salmon, saumonette, and zeepaling. Despite these alarming figures, very few management or conservation measures are in place for Squalus acanthias. In EU waters, a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) has been in place since 1999, but until 2007 it only applied to ICES Areas IIa and IV. It was also set well above the actual weight of fish being caught until 2005, rendering it meaningless. Since 2009 a maximum landing size of has been imposed in order to protect the most valuable mature females. The TAC for 2011 was set at 0 tons, ending targeted fishing for the species in EU waters. It remains to be seen if populations will be able to recover. In the recent past the European market for spiny dogfish has increased dramatically, which led to the overfishing and decline of the species. This drastic increase led to the