Its main predators are sharks such as the dusky shark, and large bony fish. The American Fisheries Society has assessed North American dusky shark populations as Vulnerable. Its very low reproductive rate renders the dusky shark extremely susceptible to overfishing. The range of the dusky shark extends worldwide, albeit discontinuously, in tropical and warm-temperate waters. The dusky shark is one of the hosts of the sharksucker ("Echeneis naucrates").