Preliminary data on elasmobranch gillnet fishery in the Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia

Abstract

Summary Elasmobranchs are an important catch component in Tunisian artisanal fisheries. Generally, species‐specific information is largely unavailable for artisanal fisheries; an increase in knowledge thereof is essential to ensure proper management of these species. The study analyzed the gillnet fishery elasmobranch catches in the Gulf of Gabès, whereby 45 fishing trips were conducted from April to June 2007 and 2008 for the capture of a total of six species: three Rajiformes and three Carchariniformes. Rhinobatos cemiculus was the most important species (52%; 4.588 ind km−2 net per day). Among shark species, Mustelus mustelus was the most important (66.8%; 2.21 ind km−2 net per day). Discards represented 6.87% of total catch in weight and 14.28% in number of specimens caught. Size composition of captures varied by species, but usually mature, mainly gravid females were abundant. Further investigations are needed to obtain more information on such fragile species for the development of protective measures.

A century of fishery data documenting the collapse of smooth‐hounds (Mustelus spp.) in the Mediterranean Sea

“…In the central Mediterranean, the three species were reported to be very common along the Tunisian, Maltese and west Sicilian shelves during the 1960s and 1980s (Bourgois & Farina, ; Quignard & Capape, ; Ragonese, Vitale, Dimech, & Mazzola, ) and around Libyan waters until the 1990s (Lamboeuf, ). Recent data show that the MUSP are still targeted by local artisanal fisheries using gillnets (Echwikhi, Saidi, Bradai, & Bouain, ) and also represent one of the main by‐catch species of longlines and trawl fisheries (Bradai et al, ). A decreasing trend in their annual catches was, however, observed during the 1990s (Bradai et al, ).…”

Irreplaceable area extends marine conservation hotspot off Tunisia: insights from GPS-tracking Scopoli’s shearwaters from the largest seabird colony in the Mediterranean

“…1, 2, 3). This is extremely surprising considering the very high productivity of the Gulf of Gabès, one order of magnitude higher than that of surrounding waters (Drira et al 2010), which attracts high numbers of other marine predators such as sharks and turtles (Echwikhi et al 2012(Echwikhi et al , 2013, and is home to one of the major Mediterranean artisanal fisheries (Jabeur et al 2000). Also, similar GPS tracking of Scopoli's shearwaters from the island of Linosa, located in the middle of the strait of Sicily, showed that those birds do use waters South of Linosa extensively, and never ventured East towards Zembra (Cecere et al 2013).…”

New sighting of the endangered species blackchin guitarfish, Rhinobatos cemiculus, in the South Aegean Sea

“…In the Mediterranean, it has been reported from France (Capapé et al 2006) Italy (Tortonese, 1956), Morocco (Lloris and Rucabado, 1998), Tunisia (Mejri et al 2004;Echwikhi et al 2013), Turkey (Iskenderun Bay: Başusta et al 2012), andIsrael (Ben-Tuvia, 1953;Golani, 1996) whereas its occurrence is rarely documented along the Hellenic and Anatolian coasts of Aegean Sea, and to date only a few records from Rhodes Island (Corsini-Foka, 2009) and Izmir Bay (Akyol and Capapé, 2014) are known (Fig. 1).…”

“…Due to its commercial interest, overfishing of mature females (that are aplacental viviparous and not prolific) poses a threat for resilience and conservation of this species (Echwikhi et al 2013). Therefore, it is listed as "endangered" according to the IUCN Red List of Threathened Species (IUCN, 2014).…”

“…It is a prevalent Guitarfish in the Central Mediterranean Sea (i.e. Gulf of Gabés) (Echwikhi et al 2013) and North eastern Atlantic (e.g. Senegalese coast) (Seck et al 2004).…”