Odontaspis ferox is sometimes caught by bottom-set gillnets laid down at the reef slopes, and more commonly it is caught by deep vertical long lines set outside the atolls for spiny dogfish (‘kashi miyaru keyolhu kan’). Its Dhivehi names include ‘Theyo miyaru’ (oil shark, on account of its large liver) and ‘Meedhaa miyaru’ (rat shark, on account of its appearance), but it is not implicated in attacks on people.