Japanese angelshark is eaten and the rough skin is made into a type of leather called shagreen for use in wood finishing. Angel sharks in general are highly threatened by commercial trawl fisheries due to their susceptibility to capture and low rate of reproduction, and angel shark species elsewhere are known to have declined markedly under fishing pressure. Trawling activity in the Yellow Sea and other parts of the northwestern Pacific is intense and, coupled with pollution, has had a serious impact on the local ecosystem. The Japanese angelshark population is suspected to have declined by up to 50% or more under
Chamois leather Chamois leather Chamois leather () is a type of porous leather, traditionally the skin of the chamois ("Rupicapra rupicapra"), a type of European mountain goat but today it is made almost exclusively from the flesh split of a sheepskin. The leather is favored for its gentle, non-abrasive composition and absorption properties. It has a range of uses: Imitation chamois leather is made using other leathers (such as the domestic goat, or pig), and synthetic chamois leather is usually made from polyvinyl alcohol or non-woven viscose rayon. The British Standard BS 6715: 1991 defines chamois leather as: "Leather made from the