Meanings
plural nonsharks · alternative non-shark
- An animal that is not a shark.
(a) No sharks are cetaceans. (b) Some nonsharks are cetaceans
1985, Stephen Francis Barker, The Elements of Logic, McGraw-Hill, page 562 more examples
1. Some percussion instruments are clarinets. 3. Some non-Celts are not non-Englishmen. 5. All freshwater fish are nonsharks
1998, Brooke Noel Moore, Richard Parker, Critical thinking, 5th edition, Mayfield Pub. Co., page 222The rainbow shark is another misnamed shark; it is a type of algae-eating minnow (a cyprinid) that bears a superficial resemblance to a shark (and is often confused with the red-finned shark—another nonshark).
2003, Mary Peachin, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Sharks, Alpha Books, page 65
alternative non-shark
- not comparableNot a shark.
Sharks are a large component of the "bycatch" associated with baited hook fisheries that target nonshark species, such as tunas and billfishes.
2014, Gene Helfman, George Burgess, Sharks: The Animal Answer Guide, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, page 1802 more examples
The lack of discussion of nonshark elasmobranchs (i.e., batoids) and nonelasmobranch chondrichthyans (chimaeras) in this manuscript should not be interpreted as a lack of interest but rather a lack of published studies.
1999, John A. Musick, Life In The Slow Lane: Ecology and Conservation of Long-lived Marine Animals, Bethesda, Maryland: American Fisheries Society, page 161The findings showed that fishers employed a range of methods to (i) increase efficiency in catching target nonshark species and (ii) decrease shark catches.
2009 December 29, Robyn E. Forrest, Carl J. Walters, “Estimating thresholds to optimal harvest rate for long-lived, low-fecundity sharks accounting for selectivity and density dependence in recruitment”, in Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, volume 66, number 12, page 2075, column 2 - not comparableNot relating to sharks.
Elsewhere, other nonshark labels are also used, such as grayfish, flake, calf fish, and even sea sturgeon—all intended to create the impression that the fish is something other than a shark.
2005, John Dawes, Fish: Sharks, Danbury, CT: Grolier, page 472 more examples
This approach dramatically reduces the number of animals that are accidentally caught: drum lines replaced half of the nets along the Hibiscus Coast in February 2007, and in the space of two years nonshark bycatch fell by 50 percent.
2012, Juliet Eilperin, Demon fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks, New York: Anchor Books, page 186The economic losses that could result if an attack occurs (and attacks have happened, including at least one fatality in the Bahamas) could negate all the positive economic benefits of the shark watching trade and spill over to nonshark tourism.
2014, Gene Helfman, George Burgess, Sharks: The Animal Answer Guide, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, page 167
Origin
Cite this entry
nonshark. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonshark
“nonshark.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonshark. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nonshark,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonshark.
Source: nonshark on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.