Abstract
The Narrowfin Smoothhound (Mustelus norrisi) is a small (to 98 cm total length) houndshark that occurs
in the Western Central and Southwest Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico to eastern Venezuela, and from
Paraná to Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is demersal on the continental shelf at depths of 0–260 m, but
mostly at depths <55 m. It is captured in recreational and commercial trawl fisheries and in commercial
and artisanal driftnets, gillnets, and longlines and retained for the meat and fins.
A combined stock assessment for this species as well as the Dusky Smoothhound (Mustelus canis) and
the Gulf of California Smoothhound (M. sinusmexicanus) from US waters in the Gulf of Mexico indicate
an increasing population over the past three generation lengths (20 years). There are no population
trend data from Mexico or Caribbean Central America, but there are unmanaged artisanal fisheries
throughout that region. In Caribbean Colombia, this shark is rare and in Venezuela, this species had
declined by the 1990s and is likely overfished. It is exposed to artisanal and trawl fisheries in southern
Brazil that are intense and have shown signs of inadequate management, and there has been a lack of
recent records.
