Norwegian record Velvet belly: 960 g

About Velvet belly

The velvet belly (Etmopterus spinax) is the smallest shark in Norwegian waters, seldom more than 45–50 cm long and up to about 1 kg. Its skin is velvety, brownish on the back and sharply black on the belly. Both dorsal fins have a spine at the front, as in the spiny dogfish. It is a lanternshark, with tiny light organs on the belly and flanks that probably help camouflage it. It is one of the most common deep-water sharks in the northeast Atlantic, living over soft bottoms from about 150 to 2,500 m. It is abundant in Norwegian fjords and along the south and west coasts, and in winter divers sometimes see it as shallow as 15–20 m. Young fish eat krill and small fish, while adults take more squid and shrimp. Females give birth to 6–20 pups. It has no market value but is a frequent bycatch in shrimp trawls. Norwegian Red List 2021: Least Concern (LC).

Sources: Artsdatabanken, Store norske leksikon, Wikipedia

• Habitat: Saltvann
• Best month: August

See the species guide

Biggest Velvet belly in FishComp

250 g (26 % of the record) by Ronny Turøy. See the catch

How to register a Norwegian record

1. Norwegian sport-fishing records are registered with Villmarksliv, not with FishComp. Read the rules before you do anything else with the fish.
2. Records are based on weight and approved by a jury. You give the weight and length, where it was caught, the gear you used and any witnesses.
3. Keep your photos and notes from the catch. Logging it in FishComp does not register a record.