 The impact of fishing activities on the nursehound is difficult to assess as species @-@ specific data is generally lacking . This species is more susceptible to overfishing than the small @-@ spotted catshark because of its larger size and fragmented distribution , which limits the recovery potential of depleted local stocks . There is evidence that its numbers have declined significantly in the Gulf of Lion , off Albania , and around the Balearic Islands . In the upper Tyrrhenian Sea , its numbers have fallen by over 99 % since the 1970s . These declines have led the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) to list the nursehound under Near Threatened . 
