Literature, social media and questionnaire surveys identify relevant conservation areas for Carcharhinus species in the Mediterranean Sea

Cattano, Carlo; Calò, Antonio; Aglieri, Giorgio; Cattano, Petra; Lorenzo, Manfredi Di; Grancagnolo, Desirèe; Lanzarone, Debora; Principato, Elena; Spatafora, Davide; Turco, Gabriele; Milazzo, Marco

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109824

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 57 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…Given their coastal location, nursery sites for early juveniles in the Mediterranean Sea are likely to overlap with fishing pressure, especially by small‐scale fisheries (Lloret et al, 2020), as well as the cumulative impacts of anthropogenic pressures that concentrate along coasts (Coll et al, 2012). Accurate landing monitoring, protection schemes in nursery areas and aggregation sites (Cattano et al, 2023) and improved fishery management through bycatch reduction devices or catch restrictions on immature individuals (Brewster‐Geisz & Miller, 2000) are pillars for defining conservation strategies for the sandbar shark and other endangered sharks in the Mediterranean Sea (Dulvy et al, 2021; Milazzo et al, 2021). Conservation issues for large predators are often transboundary (Maguire et al, 2006), and given the fragmented jurisdictions across the Mediterranean Sea, an effective spatially explicit governance for Mediterranean migratory marine species is urgently needed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Too young to die: Mapping nursery areas for early juveniles of the endangered sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) to inform conservation in the Mediterranean Sea

Barbato,

Zampieri,

D'Acunto

et al. 2023

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Globally, elasmobranch species have been declining in abundance due to fishery activities. This conservation issue calls for effective management strategies and increasing efforts to protect these species. The declining status of elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean Sea is alarming as well. Reversing such dramatic trends requires tackling fishing pressure using multiple methods, including a fine‐tuned spatial resolution in conservation strategies incorporating robust evidence on species spatial use at different life stages and its overlap with fishing pressure. In particular, a scientifically sound identification of nursery grounds is crucial to define key spatial management targets promoting the recruitment of such depleted species. Here we focused on the sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), listed as endangered by the IUCN, and on the nursery of its early juveniles such as newborns (i.e. a few months old) and young‐of‐the‐year individuals (i.e., < 1 year old), both characterized by a total length below 71 cm. First, by monitoring a small‐scale fishery fleet in the North‐Western Adriatic Sea, we unambiguously identified a local multiyear nursery site for early juveniles of this species. Then, we combined such novel information with a bibliographic review on the presence and absence of early juveniles across Mediterranean regions to construct a species distribution model predicting favourable nursery areas throughout the entire Mediterranean Sea. To do so, a Bayesian approach was applied to construct a generalized linear model with spatial effect estimated by a Gaussian random field (INLA‐SPDE). Model‐based inference indicates that, in summer, which is the main pupping season, important nursery areas for this species are found along the North‐Western coast of the Adriatic Sea, in the coastal area of the Gulf of Gabes, and in the Gulf of Iskenderun (North‐Eastern Levantine Sea). Synthesis and applications: These key areas should be prioritized to apply conservation measures to foster the recruitment of this species since intense fishing activities were also documented. Model predictions also allowed to determine where unknown nursery grounds may potentially occur, a valuable information to direct future monitoring efforts and clarify any further occurrence of nursery areas.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Too young to die: Mapping nursery areas for early juveniles of the endangered sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) to inform conservation in the Mediterranean Sea

Barbato,

Zampieri,

D'Acunto

et al. 2023

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…These characteristics can meet the criteria established for consideration of the Asinara Gulf and Bonifacio Mouths as an ISRA. Suggesting the study area as potential ISRA will need future investigations, for instance, based on interdisciplinary approaches such as dedicated surveys flanked by citizen science initiative (Cattano et al, 2023b), molecular investigation (barcoding and eDNA metabarcoding; Bakker et al, 2017;Cariani et al, 2017;Albonetti et al, 2023;Jenrette et al, 2023), specimen tracking and monitoring using BRUVs (Cattano et al, 2021;Liu et al, 2022;Prat-Varela et al, 2023) and satellite tags and acoustic telemetry (Williamson et al, 2019;Renshaw et al, 2023), multiboat fishery-independent surveys (Scacco et al, 2023a), local ecological knowledge-based investigations (Colloca et al, 2017), and spatially explicit population models (Lauria et al, 2015). These tools will be crucial to disentangle the hypotheses made on the prevalence of juveniles observed in the bycatch area.…”

Section: Final Considerations and Future Research Prospectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking into the prevalence of bycatch juveniles of critically endangered elasmobranchs: a case study from pelagic longline and trammel net fisheries of the Asinara Gulf (western Mediterranean)

Scacco,

Gennari,

Di Crescenzo

et al. 2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Bycatch of cartilaginous species is considered one of the main drivers for the dramatic declines observed in many populations. Pelagic longlines and passive nets impact many species depending on their life stage and habitat use. Here, we present an updated list of incidental catches collected through a 4-year fishery-dependent survey. We documented the bycatch of four critically endangered species, particularly 13 individuals of Isurus oxyrinchus, Prionace glauca, and Mobula mobular by longlines and one specimen of Lamna nasus by trammel nets in the Asinara Gulf (Northern Sardinia, Italy). As almost all specimens were juveniles or newborns, we explored and discussed the potential drivers explaining their prevalence in the sample. Despite our low sample size, of the four possible options discussed, the role of the Asinara Gulf as an Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) for large pelagic elasmobranch species is one worth considering.

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“…The high numbers of divers and boats visiting Scilla Bay during the summer might suggest the need to manage human recreational activities during the species' reproductive period. Ecotourism activities should be promoted and regulated to limit any potential negative effects on the species' behaviours during its congregation (Cattano et al, 2021) and to develop public awareness of their conservation priority (Cattano et al, 2023). In addition to frequent tourism, fishing operations in the area during the aggregation could represent an important threat since aggregating behaviour makes populations more vulnerable to overexploitation (Jacoby et al, 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary evidence of a potential reproductive aggregation area of the common stingray Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758) (Chondrichthyes – Dasyatidae) in the Central Mediterranean Sea

GRANCAGNOLO,

CATTANO,

QUATTROCCHI

et al. 2023

Medit. Mar. Sci.

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Shallow and coastal aggregations of batoids are poorly documented in the Mediterranean Sea, despite being likely threatened by multiple anthropogenic pressures. We report the first observations of a potential summer reproductive aggregation of the common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca). The recurrent presence in previous years of several pregnant females, a mature male and a female with fresh bite wounds was recorded in shallow waters by recreational scuba divers and scientists in Scilla Bay (Strait of Messina, Italy), a location with unique oceanographic features in the Central Mediterranean Sea. These observations suggest that the area could be used as a parturition and mating site in early summer, and this is significant for the conservation of this Vulnerable species.

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Literature, social media and questionnaire surveys identify relevant conservation areas for Carcharhinus species in the Mediterranean Sea

Cited by 10 publications

References 57 publications

Too young to die: Mapping nursery areas for early juveniles of the endangered sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) to inform conservation in the Mediterranean Sea

Too young to die: Mapping nursery areas for early juveniles of the endangered sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) to inform conservation in the Mediterranean Sea

Looking into the prevalence of bycatch juveniles of critically endangered elasmobranchs: a case study from pelagic longline and trammel net fisheries of the Asinara Gulf (western Mediterranean)

Preliminary evidence of a potential reproductive aggregation area of the common stingray Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758) (Chondrichthyes – Dasyatidae) in the Central Mediterranean Sea

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