Small smooth-hound of the eastern Pacific, living on the shelf bottom and eating crabs, shrimp and squid. Least Concern worldwide and heavily fished from Mexico to Peru, in commercial and sport fishing.
The brown smooth-hound lives on the continental shelf bottom of the eastern Pacific, from northern California to the Gulf of California and from Ecuador to Peru, from the tidal zone to more than 200 m (down to 281 m). Adults eat crabs, ghost shrimp, mantis shrimp, isopods, squid, polychaetes, tunicates and small fish. It is viviparous, with a yolk-sac placenta, bearing 3 to 5 pups of 19 to 21 cm per litter. It is sold fresh, smoked and frozen, and FishBase notes heavy commercial fishing and use in sport fishing. IUCN considers it Least Concern (LC, 2024). It does not occur in Brazil.
fun facts
Adapts well to captivity (FishBase).
Polyandry (a female carrying young from more than one male) is common among elasmobranchs, and in this species its frequency varies with location and the density of breeding animals (FishBase).
FishBase classifies the species' fishery as highly commercial and includes it among sport-fishing fish.
how to recognize it
identification
Small, slender smooth-hound, brown above and pale below (hence the name brown smooth-hound). Like other Mustelus, it has low, mosaic-pattern teeth and dorsal fins without spines. Among the Mustelus of the eastern Pacific it is hard to tell apart by appearance alone: Mexico has several, such as M. lunulatus, M. dorsalis and M. californicus, and safe identification requires examining the animal in hand.
how brown smooth-hound fishing looks
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Eastern Pacific: from northern California (USA) to the Gulf of California (Mexico) and from Ecuador to Peru, according to FishBase. Does not occur in the Atlantic or in Brazil.
Habitat: Continental shelf bottom, from the tidal zone to more than 200 m (down to 281 m).
calendar and clock
when to fish
best season
time of year
JanFebSeaAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Estimate: no known season. FishBase gives no seasonality for the species. In Mexico, check the annual closed seasons for sharks and rays in the rules section.
best time of day
Any time. Hunts on the bottom; FishBase gives no preferred time of day.
weather, water and behavior
what affects the brown smooth-hound
sensitivity The little bars show how much each factor affects this species. Five full: it feels it a lot.
cold and cold fronts
Subtropical species with a wide latitude range (48°N to 18°S, FishBase); the effect of cold is poorly measured.
atmospheric pressure
Not well known.
moon
Not well known.
rain
Not very relevant.
water level
Not applicable at sea.
noise
Not well known.
wind
Rough seas prevent surf fishing and fishing from small boats.
beach: 12' to 14' for a 100 to 150 g sinker; boat: 6' to 7', 15 to 30 lb
spinning / baitcasting reel
5000 to 7000 spinning reel
line
monofilament 0.35 to 0.45 mm
leader
monofilament 0.60 mm
hook
circle hook 2/0 to 4/0, preferably barbless
natural baits
shrimp
lula
fish fillet
caranguejo
accessories
cutting pliers
long-handled hook remover
luvas
tip from an angler
In Mexico, the quota is one shark per angler per day, and the annual closed seasons also apply to sport fishing; in Panama, catching sharks in sport fishing will be banned from around December 2026.
what the law says
rules for the brown smooth-hound
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency. Conservation: Global: Least Concern (LC), assessed on Aug 20, 2024 (IUCN, version 2025-2, via FishBase). It does not occur in Brazil and is therefore not on the national list.
Mexico: no more than 1 shark per angler per day
1 specimen per angler per day (counts as 5 against the quota of 10)
In recreational sport fishing in Mexican marine waters, the shark limit is one specimen per angler per day, which counts as five toward the total limit of ten fish (no more than five of the same species). Specimens beyond the quota may only be released alive, in good survival condition (catch and release), and sport-caught fish may not be sold. Sport fishing is also not allowed in closed zones and seasons or in protected natural areas without the proper permits. For NOM-017, Mustelus sharks are listed as "tiburón".
Mexico: NOM-029-PESC-2006 regulates commercial shark and ray fishing
NOM-029 is the rule for shark and ray fishing at commercial scale: it applies to holders of permits for directed fishing of these animals and to those who catch them by chance (section 1.2), and covers commercial fishing vessels (section 4.2.1); sport fishing has its own rule, NOM-017. It prohibits keeping only the fins of sharks (section 4.2.1) and provides closed seasons and closed zones, set by notice in the DOF, for directed fishing (sections 4.2.3 and 4.3.4: no directed fishing during closed seasons, within 5 km of coral reefs, in front of river mouths and lagoons, in front of turtle nesting beaches, and near sea lion colonies). The species is listed in Normative Appendix A, on the Pacific shark list ("tiburón mamón, mamón pardo").
Mexico: annual closed seasons for sharks and rays (check the dates for the year)
confirm with the agency
NOM-017 (item 4.10 a) prohibits recreational fishing in closed zones and seasons, and NOM-029 (item 4.2.3) requires the authority to set closed seasons for sharks and rays by notice in the DOF; the dates change and vary by coast. On Aug 1, 2025, the Secretaría de Agricultura and Conapesca announced, for the Pacific coast, the use of sharks and rays from August 1 to April 30 (May to July are excluded, our interpretation from the announcement) and, in Tabasco, Campeche, and Yucatán, a closed season from August 1 to 29. We did not find the official notice in force in 2026: confirm the dates with Conapesca before fishing.
Panama: sharks and rays may not be caught in recreational fishing
catch, retention, and landing banned (from about Dec 10, 2026)
Executive Decree 9/2026 (art. 19) bans, throughout the national territory and in sport, recreational, or tourism fishing, the catch, retention, handling for recreational purposes, use, and landing of sharks and rays (subclass Elasmobranchii). If one is hooked by accident, it must be released immediately, without taking it fully out of the water and without unnecessary handling. It is also prohibited to promote them as targets in tournaments (art. 19) and to sell the catch (art. 20). The decree takes effect six months after its promulgation on June 10, 2026 (art. 40), around Dec 10, 2026, and repeals Resuelto ADM/ARAP 002/2012 (art. 39). Confirm the date with ARAP.
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
Remove the hook with a dehooker while it is still in the water, or with the animal wet, holding it by the body and away from the mouth, and release it quickly. It is small and handles quick release well.
in the kitchen
FishBase records human consumption, fresh, smoked and frozen. In Mexico the limit is one shark per angler per day, and sport-caught fish may not be sold.
calculator
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00229, b = 3.14; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa pelo gênero e formato do corpo)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
The season factors (months), the time of day, the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water, and noise), and the water temperature range are editorial estimates by the app, supported by FishBase and the literature cited below, without measurements of its own for this species. The months indicate when an angler may find the species near the coast, not a catch season. They are not official data and may vary by region and year. Legal rules appear in the rules section, with the standard and link.
officialMéxico: NOM-029-PESC-2006, pesca responsável de tubarões e raias (DOF de 14/02/2007)Copy of the text published in the DOF, on the standardization platform of the Secretaría de Economía. Items 1.2, 4.2.1, 4.2.3, and 4.3.4 and Normative Appendix A checked on Oct 13, 2026. The standard was written for commercial fishing; recreational fishing has its own standard, NOM-017.
