Elasmobranch Bycatch in a bottom trawl fishery at Al Hoceima Port in Morocco (Mediterranean Sea)

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Abstract This study focuses on the identification and estimation of the number of rays and sharks caught incidentally in the Moroccan Mediterranean Sea and their seasonal variation. In 2020, from 62 bottom trawl surveys, it was estimated that elasmobranchs represent 6.67% (25 kg) of the total catch (372 kg/ trip) per trip in Al Hoceima Bay. Raja clavata and Scyliorhinus canicula were the most abundant species, representing between 27% and 21% of the total elasmobranchs captured respectively, followed by Prionace glauca (19%) and Oxynotus centrina (13%). Single or sporadic captures of the threatened and protected Isurus oxyrinchus and Mobula mobular were further recorded, as well as of the endemic and threatened Raja radula. Elasmobranch bycatch rates vary with depth, season and fishing area. The current data indicate that the Moroccan Mediterranean may be an important breeding area for many elasmobranchs. They also emphasize the urgent necessity for better understanding the interactions between fisheries and elasmobranchs to develop management measures.

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