National Evaluation of Populations of Threatened and Uncertain Elasmobranchs (NEPTUNE)

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

National Evaluation of Populations of Threatened and Uncertain Elasmobranchs (NEPTUNE) Project Code: MB5201 National Evaluation of Populations of Threatened and Uncertain Elasmobranchs (NEPTUNE) Authors: J. R. Ellis, V. A. Bendall, S. J. Hetherington, J. F. Silva and S. R. McCully Phillips. Issue date: 15-Jan-2016 Cefas Document Control Title: National Evaluation of Populations of Threatened and Uncertain Elasmobranchs (NEPTUNE) Project Code: MB5201 Submitted to: Defra Date submitted: 15-Jan-2016 Project Manager: Jim Ellis Project Sponsor: Wendy Dawson Report compiled by: Jim Ellis, Vicky Bendall, Stuart Hetherington, Joana Silva and Sophy McCully Phillips Quality control by: David Righton Approved by & date: Version: V1.4 Ellis, J. R., Bendall, V. A., Hetherington, S. J., Silva, J. F. and McCully Suggested citation Phillips, S. R. (2015). National Evaluation of Populations of Threatened and Uncertain Elasmobranchs (NEPTUNE). Project Report (Cefas), x + 105 pp. Version Control History Author Date Comment Version Ellis et al. 25 Feb 2015 Initial draft V1.0 Ellis et al. 26 Feb 2015 Edits made by JE and SM V1.1 Ellis et al. 04 Mar 2015 QA by DR, further edits by JE/SM V1.2 Ellis et al. 24 Jul 2015 Following comments from PSG V1.3 Ellis et al. 15 Jan 2016 Final version after external review V1.4 National Evaluation of Populations of Threatened and Uncertain Elasmobranchs (NEPTUNE) Page i National Evaluation of Populations of Threatened and Uncertain Elasmobranchs (NEPTUNE) Page ii Project Code: MB5201 National Evaluation of Populations of Threatened and Uncertain Elasmobranchs (NEPTUNE) Authors: J. R. Ellis, V. A. Bendall, S. Hetherington, J. F. Silva and S. R. McCully Phillips Issue date: 15-Jan-2016 Head office Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0HT, UK Tel +44 (0) 1502 56 2244 Fax +44 (0) 1502 51 3865 www.cefas.defra.gov.uk Cefas is an executive agency of Defra National Evaluation of Populations of Threatened and Uncertain Elasmobranchs (NEPTUNE) Page iii National Evaluation of Populations of Threatened and Uncertain Elasmobranchs (NEPTUNE) Page iv Table of contents Informing policy .................................................................................................................................... 1 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Project background ................................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Format of the report ............................................................................................................... 5 2 Elasmobranchs of the British Isles and prioritisation of species of interest ......................... 7 Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 7 2.1 Elasmobranchs of the British Isles .......................................................................................... 8 2.2 Prioritising elasmobranchs and holocephalans of interest .................................................. 13 2.3 Productivity Susceptibility Analyses ..................................................................................... 17 3 Elasmobranch bycatch in the Celtic Sea .................................................................................. 25 Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 25 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 26 3.2 Stakeholder engagement ...................................................................................................... 26 3.3 Approach and data collection ............................................................................................... 27 3.4 Catches of spurdog, common skate and porbeagle ............................................................. 31 3.5 Tagging studies and biological information .......................................................................... 40 3.6 At-vessel mortality ................................................................................................................ 42 3.7 Best practice in handling elasmobranchs and developing a ‘Code of conduct’ ................... 44 3.8 Lessons learnt: Advantages and limitations of fisher-collected data ................................... 47 4 Biological investigations of elasmobranchs ............................................................................ 49 Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 49 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 50 4.2 Starry smooth-hound Mustelus asterias .............................................................................. 53 4.3 Spurdog Squalus acanthias ................................................................................................... 61 4.4 Porbeagle Lamna nasus ........................................................................................................ 69 4.5 Other biological investigations ............................................................................................. 73 National Evaluation of Populations of Threatened and Uncertain Elasmobranchs (NEPTUNE) Page v 5 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................................... 77 6 Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................... 81 7 References ................................................................................................................................... 82 8 Annexes ....................................................................................................................................... 87 8.1 List of acronyms .................................................................................................................... 87 8.2 Outputs from project and associated work .......................................................................... 88 8.3 Taxonomic list of chondrichthyans of the British Isles and adjacent waters ........................ 91 National Evaluation of Populations of Threatened and Uncertain Elasmobranchs (NEPTUNE) Page vi Figures Figure 1. Diversity of the elasmobranch fauna of the British Isles, showing (a) spurdog, (b) angel shark, (c) porbeagle, (d) blue shark, (e) tope, (f) starry smooth-hound, (g) lesser-spotted dogfish, (h) greater-spotted dogfish, (i) common stingray and (j) electric ray .......................................................... 9 Figure 2. Diversity of the elasmobranch fauna of the British Isles, showing (a) starry ray, (b) blue skate, (c) sandy ray, (d) shagreen ray, (e) cuckoo ray, (f) blonde ray, (g) thornback ray, (h) small-eyed ray, (i) spotted ray and (j) undulate ray. ............................................................................................... 10 Figure 3: PSA plot indicating vulnerabilities of Celtic Sea elasmobranchs in the demersal gillnet fishery. Species codes given in Table 9. ................................................................................................ 24 Figure 4: PSA plot indicating vulnerabilities of Celtic Sea elasmobranchs in the demersal otter trawl fishery. Species codes given in Table 9. ................................................................................................ 24 Figure 5: Disentangling a common skate from fishing gear ................................................................. 28 Figure 6. Main fishing grounds of Vessel A when setting gillnets. ....................................................... 32 Figure 7. Main fishing grounds of Vessel A when setting tangle nets. ................................................. 33 Figure 8. Main fishing grounds of Vessel B when setting gillnets. ........................................................ 34 Figure 9. Main fishing grounds of Vessel C when setting gillnets. ........................................................ 36 Figure 10. Main fishing grounds of Vessel C when setting tangle nets. ............................................... 37 Figure 11. Spatial distribution of spurdog bycatch observed by ICES rectangle .................................. 38 Figure 12. Spatial distribution of porbeagle bycatch observed by ICES rectangle ............................... 39 Figure 13. Spatial distribution of common skate bycatch observed by ICES rectangle ........................ 39 Figure 14. Length frequency of Dipturus spp. tagged and released, showing those identified as Dipturus batis (BSKT), Dipturus cf. intermedia (FSKT) and Dipturus batis-complex (SKT) .................... 41 Figure 15. Relationship between disc width and total length in Dipturus batis ................................... 41 Figure 16. Length frequency of spurdog Squalus acanthias tagged and released ............................... 42 Figure 17. Length frequency of undulate ray Raja undulata tagged and released .............................. 42 Figure
Recommended publications
  • Age, Growth, and Sexual Maturity of the Deepsea Skate, Bathyraja
    AGE, GROWTH, AND SEXUAL MATURITY OF THE DEEPSEA SKATE, BATHYRAJA ABYSSICOLA A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Alaska Pacific University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science in Environmental Science by Cameron Murray Provost April 2016 Pro Q u est Nu m b er: 10104548 All rig hts reserv e d INF O RM ATI O N T O ALL USERS Th e q u a lity of this re pro d u ctio n is d e p e n d e nt u p o n th e q u a lity of th e c o p y su b mitt e d. In th e unlik e ly e v e nt th a t th e a uth or did n ot se n d a c o m ple t e m a nuscript a n d th ere are missin g p a g es, th ese will b e n ot e d. Also, if m a t eria l h a d to b e re m o v e d, a n ot e will in dic a t e th e d e le tio n. Pro Q u est 10104548 Pu blish e d b y Pro Q u est LL C (2016). C o p yrig ht of th e Dissert a tio n is h e ld b y th e A uth or. All rig hts reserv e d. This w ork is prot e ct e d a g a inst un a uth orize d c o p yin g un d er Title 17, Unit e d St a t es C o d e Microform Editio n © Pro Q u est LL C .
    [Show full text]
  • Sharks in Crisis: a Call to Action for the Mediterranean
    REPORT 2019 SHARKS IN CRISIS: A CALL TO ACTION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN WWF Sharks in the Mediterranean 2019 | 1 fp SECTION 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Written and edited by WWF Mediterranean Marine Initiative / Evan Jeffries (www.swim2birds.co.uk), based on data contained in: Bartolí, A., Polti, S., Niedermüller, S.K. & García, R. 2018. Sharks in the Mediterranean: A review of the literature on the current state of scientific knowledge, conservation measures and management policies and instruments. Design by Catherine Perry (www.swim2birds.co.uk) Front cover photo: Blue shark (Prionace glauca) © Joost van Uffelen / WWF References and sources are available online at www.wwfmmi.org Published in July 2019 by WWF – World Wide Fund For Nature Any reproduction in full or in part must mention the title and credit the WWF Mediterranean Marine Initiative as the copyright owner. © Text 2019 WWF. All rights reserved. Our thanks go to the following people for their invaluable comments and contributions to this report: Fabrizio Serena, Monica Barone, Adi Barash (M.E.C.O.), Ioannis Giovos (iSea), Pamela Mason (SharkLab Malta), Ali Hood (Sharktrust), Matthieu Lapinksi (AILERONS association), Sandrine Polti, Alex Bartoli, Raul Garcia, Alessandro Buzzi, Giulia Prato, Jose Luis Garcia Varas, Ayse Oruc, Danijel Kanski, Antigoni Foutsi, Théa Jacob, Sofiane Mahjoub, Sarah Fagnani, Heike Zidowitz, Philipp Kanstinger, Andy Cornish and Marco Costantini. Special acknowledgements go to WWF-Spain for funding this report. KEY CONTACTS Giuseppe Di Carlo Director WWF Mediterranean Marine Initiative Email: [email protected] Simone Niedermueller Mediterranean Shark expert Email: [email protected] Stefania Campogianni Communications manager WWF Mediterranean Marine Initiative Email: [email protected] WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with more than 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries.
    [Show full text]
  • Barndoor Skate, Dipturus Laevis, Life History and Habitat Characteristics
    NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-173 Essential Fish Habitat Source Document: Barndoor Skate, Dipturus laevis, Life History and Habitat Characteristics U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Region Northeast Fisheries Science Center Woods Hole, Massachusetts March 2003 Recent Issues in This Series: 155. Food of Northwest Atlantic Fishes and Two Common Species of Squid. By Ray E. Bowman, Charles E. Stillwell, William L. Michaels, and Marvin D. Grosslein. January 2000. xiv + 138 p., 1 fig., 7 tables, 2 app. NTIS Access. No. PB2000-106735. 156. Proceedings of the Summer Flounder Aging Workshop, 1-2 February 1999, Woods Hole, Massachusetts. By George R. Bolz, James Patrick Monaghan, Jr., Kathy L. Lang, Randall W. Gregory, and Jay M. Burnett. May 2000. v + 15 p., 5 figs., 5 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB2000-107403. 157. Contaminant Levels in Muscle of Four Species of Recreational Fish from the New York Bight Apex. By Ashok D. Deshpande, Andrew F.J. Draxler, Vincent S. Zdanowicz, Mary E. Schrock, Anthony J. Paulson, Thomas W. Finneran, Beth L. Sharack, Kathy Corbo, Linda Arlen, Elizabeth A. Leimburg, Bruce W. Dockum, Robert A. Pikanowski, Brian May, and Lisa B. Rosman. June 2000. xxii + 99 p., 6 figs., 80 tables, 3 app., glossary. NTIS Access. No. PB2001-107346. 158. A Framework for Monitoring and Assessing Socioeconomics and Governance of Large Marine Ecosystems. By Jon G. Sutinen, editor, with contributors (listed alphabetically) Patricia Clay, Christopher L. Dyer, Steven F. Edwards, John Gates, Tom A. Grigalunas, Timothy Hennessey, Lawrence Juda, Andrew W. Kitts, Philip N.
    [Show full text]
  • Skates and Rays Diversity, Exploration and Conservation – Case-Study of the Thornback Ray, Raja Clavata
    UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DEPARTAMENTO DE BIOLOGIA ANIMAL SKATES AND RAYS DIVERSITY, EXPLORATION AND CONSERVATION – CASE-STUDY OF THE THORNBACK RAY, RAJA CLAVATA Bárbara Marques Serra Pereira Doutoramento em Ciências do Mar 2010 UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DEPARTAMENTO DE BIOLOGIA ANIMAL SKATES AND RAYS DIVERSITY, EXPLORATION AND CONSERVATION – CASE-STUDY OF THE THORNBACK RAY, RAJA CLAVATA Bárbara Marques Serra Pereira Tese orientada por Professor Auxiliar com Agregação Leonel Serrano Gordo e Investigadora Auxiliar Ivone Figueiredo Doutoramento em Ciências do Mar 2010 The research reported in this thesis was carried out at the Instituto de Investigação das Pescas e do Mar (IPIMAR - INRB), Unidade de Recursos Marinhos e Sustentabilidade. This research was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through a PhD grant (SFRH/BD/23777/2005) and the research project EU Data Collection/DCR (PNAB). Skates and rays diversity, exploration and conservation | Table of Contents Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. i List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. v List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. viii Agradecimentos ........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Spatial Ecology and Fisheries Interactions of Rajidae in the Uk
    UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF NATURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Ocean and Earth Sciences SPATIAL ECOLOGY AND FISHERIES INTERACTIONS OF RAJIDAE IN THE UK Samantha Jane Simpson Thesis for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY APRIL 2018 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON 1 2 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF NATURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Ocean and Earth Sciences Doctor of Philosophy FINE-SCALE SPATIAL ECOLOGY AND FISHERIES INTERACTIONS OF RAJIDAE IN UK WATERS by Samantha Jane Simpson The spatial occurrence of a species is a fundamental part of its ecology, playing a role in shaping the evolution of its life history, driving population level processes and species interactions. Within this spatial occurrence, species may show a tendency to occupy areas with particular abiotic or biotic factors, known as a habitat association. In addition some species have the capacity to select preferred habitat at a particular time and, when species are sympatric, resource partitioning can allow their coexistence and reduce competition among them. The Rajidae (skate) are cryptic benthic mesopredators, which bury in the sediment for extended periods of time with some species inhabiting turbid coastal waters in higher latitudes. Consequently, identifying skate fine-scale spatial ecology is challenging and has lacked detailed study, despite them being commercially important species in the UK, as well as being at risk of population decline due to overfishing. This research aimed to examine the fine-scale spatial occurrence, habitat selection and resource partitioning among the four skates across a coastal area off Plymouth, UK, in the western English Channel. In addition, I investigated the interaction of Rajidae with commercial fisheries to determine if interactions between species were different and whether existing management measures are effective.
    [Show full text]
  • Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation of Skate Species (Rajidae)
    16. Gulf of Alaska Skates by Sarah Gaichas1, Nick Sagalkin2, Chris Gburski1, Duane Stevenson1, and Rob Swanson3 1NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle WA 2ADF&G Commercial Fisheries Division, Kodiak AK 3NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Kodiak AK Executive Summary Summary of Major Changes Changes in the input data: 1. Total catch weight for GOA skates is updated with 2004 and partial 2005 data. 2. Biomass estimates from the 2005 GOA bottom trawl survey are incorporated. 3. Life history information has been updated with recent research results. 4. Information on the position of skates within the GOA ecosystem and the potential ecosystem effects of skate removals are included. Changes in assessment methodology: There are no changes to the Tier 5 assessment methodology. Changes in assessment results: No directed fishing for skates in the GOA is recommended, due to high incidental catch in groundfish and halibut fisheries. Skate biomass changed between the last NMFS GOA trawl survey in 2003 and the most recent survey in 2005, which changes the Tier 5 assessment results based on survey biomass. The recommendations for 2005 based on the three most recent survey biomass estimates for skates and M=0.10 are: Western Central GOA Eastern GOA GOA (610) (620, 630) (640, 650) Bathyraja skates Gulfwide Big skate ABC 695 2,250 599 ABC 1,617 OFL 927 3,001 798 OFL 2,156 Longnose skate ABC 65 1,969 861 OFL 87 2,625 1,148 Responses to SSC Comments SSC comments specific to the GOA Skates assessment: From the December, 2004 SSC minutes: The SSC is grateful to samplers with ADF&G who collected catch data and biological samples for Kodiak landings.
    [Show full text]
  • Case Reports for Species & Habitats on the Initial Draft
    OSPAR Commission, 2008: Case reports for the OSPAR List of Threatened and/or Declining Species and Habitats ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Nomination Decline Dipturus (Raja) batis, Common Skate The Common Skate has declined throughout its range. The magnitude of decline is differentially well documented in various areas, but it is known to have severely declined in most shelf areas (ICES, 2002). For example, D.batis has been commercially extinct in the Irish Sea for some years (Brander, 1981) and has declined severely in the North Sea (Walker & Hislop, 1998). This skate was once an abundant constituent of the demersal fish community of north-west Europe. Fisheries data indicate that populations of Dipturus batis have undergone an extremely high level of depletion in the central part of its range around the British Isles since the early part of this century. Although landings appear stable in other parts of the species’ range, this is attributed to the redirection of fishing effort from shelf seas, where populations have been very heavily depleted, into deeper water where previously unfished populations are now being taken (Ellis & Walker, in press). Catch statistics reveal a major decline in landings of th all skates and rays since the beginning of the 20 century but there are some difficulties with interpretation at the species level, as the data have sometimes been combined. There are some Geographical extent records, however, that distinguish between catches OSPAR Regions; All of the different species such as the Scottish Biogeographic zones: 1,2,4,6-9,11-14 sampling programme carried out in the North Sea Region & Biogeographic zones specified for decline between 1929-1956 and 1981-1995.
    [Show full text]
  • Updated Checklist of Marine Fishes (Chordata: Craniata) from Portugal and the Proposed Extension of the Portuguese Continental Shelf
    European Journal of Taxonomy 73: 1-73 ISSN 2118-9773 http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2014.73 www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu 2014 · Carneiro M. et al. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Monograph urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9A5F217D-8E7B-448A-9CAB-2CCC9CC6F857 Updated checklist of marine fishes (Chordata: Craniata) from Portugal and the proposed extension of the Portuguese continental shelf Miguel CARNEIRO1,5, Rogélia MARTINS2,6, Monica LANDI*,3,7 & Filipe O. COSTA4,8 1,2 DIV-RP (Modelling and Management Fishery Resources Division), Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Av. Brasilia 1449-006 Lisboa, Portugal. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 3,4 CBMA (Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology), Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] * corresponding author: [email protected] 5 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:90A98A50-327E-4648-9DCE-75709C7A2472 6 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:1EB6DE00-9E91-407C-B7C4-34F31F29FD88 7 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:6D3AC760-77F2-4CFA-B5C7-665CB07F4CEB 8 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:48E53CF3-71C8-403C-BECD-10B20B3C15B4 Abstract. The study of the Portuguese marine ichthyofauna has a long historical tradition, rooted back in the 18th Century. Here we present an annotated checklist of the marine fishes from Portuguese waters, including the area encompassed by the proposed extension of the Portuguese continental shelf and the Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ). The list is based on historical literature records and taxon occurrence data obtained from natural history collections, together with new revisions and occurrences.
    [Show full text]
  • Batoid Abundances, Spatial Distribution, and Life History Traits
    animals Article Batoid Abundances, Spatial Distribution, and Life History Traits in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea): Bridging a Knowledge Gap through Three Decades of Survey Michele Luca Geraci 1,2 , Sergio Ragonese 2,*, Danilo Scannella 2, Fabio Falsone 2, Vita Gancitano 2 , Jurgen Mifsud 3, Miriam Gambin 3, Alicia Said 3 and Sergio Vitale 2 1 Geological and Environmental Sciences (BiGeA)–Marine Biology and Fisheries Laboratory, Department of Biological, University of Bologna, Viale Adriatico 1/n, 61032 Fano, PU, Italy; [email protected] 2 Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology (IRBIM), National Research Council–CNR, Via Luigi Vaccara, 61, 91026 Mazara del Vallo, TP, Italy; [email protected] (D.S.); [email protected] (F.F.); [email protected] (V.G.); [email protected] (S.V.) 3 Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights (MAFA), Ghammieri Government Farm, Triq l-Ingiered, Malta; [email protected] (J.M.); [email protected] (M.G.); [email protected] (A.S.) * Correspondence: [email protected] Simple Summary: Batoid species are cartilaginous fish commonly known as rays, but they also Citation: Geraci, M.L.; Ragonese, S.; include stingrays, electric rays, guitarfish, skates, and sawfish. These species are very sensitive Scannella, D.; Falsone, F.; Gancitano, to fishing, mainly because of their slow growth rate and late maturity; therefore, they need to be V.; Mifsud, J.; Gambin, M.; Said, A.; adequately managed. Regrettably, information on life history traits (e.g., length at first maturity, Vitale, S. Batoid Abundances, Spatial sex ratio, and growth) and abundance are still scarce, particularly in the Mediterranean Sea.
    [Show full text]
  • EC Dipturus Species
    9.3.2.4 Special request, Advice October 2012 ECOREGION Widely distributed and migratory stocks SUBJECT European Commission special request on spatial distribution, stock status, and advice on Dipturus species Advice summary The larger Dipturus cf. intermedia occurs in the northern North Sea and off the northwest coast of Scotland, and D. cf. flossada is the predominant species in the Celtic Sea and around Rockall. The two species overlap over a wide part of the Celtic seas ecoregion. There are insufficient data to delineate the more southerly and offshore distributional limits of the two species. In the North Sea, Celtic seas, and the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic Iberian waters, the Dipturus complex is considered to be depleted. Advice in each area is that there should be no targeted fishery for either Dipturus cf. flossada or Dipturus cf. intermedia, based on the precautionary approach for data-limited stocks, and measures should be taken to minimize bycatch. Additional measures should be identified that can regulate exploitation of the complex. Such measures may include seasonal and/or area closures, technical measures, and tailored measures for target fisheries. Such measures should be developed by stakeholder consultations, considering the overall mixed fisheries context. Information on identification is provided to enable fishers, port staff, and enforcers to separate the two species. Request Dipturus batis, the common skate, is now considered to consist of two species. Dipturus cf. flossada and Dipturus cf. intermedia are considered to form part of the Dipturus complex. According to its depleted situation (stock described in scientific papers as the first clear case of a fish species brought to the brink of extinction by commercial fishing), there is an existing management scheme as for Dipturus batis, mainly a ban on landing.
    [Show full text]
  • Elasmobranch Biodiversity, Conservation and Management Proceedings of the International Seminar and Workshop, Sabah, Malaysia, July 1997
    The IUCN Species Survival Commission Elasmobranch Biodiversity, Conservation and Management Proceedings of the International Seminar and Workshop, Sabah, Malaysia, July 1997 Edited by Sarah L. Fowler, Tim M. Reed and Frances A. Dipper Occasional Paper of the IUCN Species Survival Commission No. 25 IUCN The World Conservation Union Donors to the SSC Conservation Communications Programme and Elasmobranch Biodiversity, Conservation and Management: Proceedings of the International Seminar and Workshop, Sabah, Malaysia, July 1997 The IUCN/Species Survival Commission is committed to communicate important species conservation information to natural resource managers, decision-makers and others whose actions affect the conservation of biodiversity. The SSC's Action Plans, Occasional Papers, newsletter Species and other publications are supported by a wide variety of generous donors including: The Sultanate of Oman established the Peter Scott IUCN/SSC Action Plan Fund in 1990. The Fund supports Action Plan development and implementation. To date, more than 80 grants have been made from the Fund to SSC Specialist Groups. The SSC is grateful to the Sultanate of Oman for its confidence in and support for species conservation worldwide. The Council of Agriculture (COA), Taiwan has awarded major grants to the SSC's Wildlife Trade Programme and Conservation Communications Programme. This support has enabled SSC to continue its valuable technical advisory service to the Parties to CITES as well as to the larger global conservation community. Among other responsibilities, the COA is in charge of matters concerning the designation and management of nature reserves, conservation of wildlife and their habitats, conservation of natural landscapes, coordination of law enforcement efforts as well as promotion of conservation education, research and international cooperation.
    [Show full text]
  • Protection of Sharks and Rays in the Israeli Mediterranean
    Plan of Action for Protection of Sharks and Rays in the Israeli Mediterranean 2016 II Written by: Asaf Ariel, Adi Barash With comments from: Aviad Scheinin, Oren Sonin, Eric Diamant, Dor Adalist, Danny Golani, Danny Chernov, Menachem Goren, Eran Brokovitch, Tomer Kochen and Ruth Yahel Translation: Jennifer Levin Graphic Design: Yael Jicchaki-Golan Photography: Uri Ferro, Aviram Waldman, Aviad Scheinin, Adi Barash, Haggai Netiv, Shai Milat, Guy Hadash, Hod Ben Hurin, Charles Roffey, Brian Gratwicke Cover and back jacket photography: Uri Ferro Recommended citation: Ariel, A. and Barash, A. (2015). Action Plan for Protection of Sharks and Rays in the Israeli Mediterranean. EcoOcean Association. III Photography: Aviram Valdman, www.thetower.org/article/photos-worlds-beneath-the-sacred-waters,'Tower Magazine' IV Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................1 1. Introduction.......................................................................................3 1.1 The Objective of the Proposed Action Plan ....................................3 1.2 About the Model for the Action Plan .............................................3 2. Background .......................................................................................5 2.1 Sharks and rays and their ecological importance ......................5 2.2 Sharks and rays in the Mediterranean and in the coastal waters of Israel ............................................................................6 2.3 Factors that
    [Show full text]