Can opportunistic methodologies provide information on elasmobranchs? A case study from Seas around Turkey
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22120/jwb.2020.136094.1185Keywords:
Data collection, sharks, rays, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black SeaAbstract
Research on shark and ray species in Turkey is limited and mostly conducted by destructive methods. Unfortunately, many of these species are threatened or near extinction, and still, there are many species with limited or no information. This fact raises concern on what method of research should be conducted on elasmobranchs with conservation in mind. And this initiated the idea of non-lethal or opportunistic sampling methodologies for obtaining required knowledge. Collecting genetic information without additional pressure by lethal approaches, using the latest technology from other disciplines, citizen science to learn about spatial-temporal distribution or population dynamics, and collecting bycatch individuals with no usage can be listed among the most popular methodologies. This study aimed to show how effective were opportunistic methods to obtain information on these threatened species without adding more sampling pressure on their populations.
References
Barbini S. A., Lucifora L. O., Figueroa D. E. 2015. Using opportunistic records from a recreational fishing magazine to assess population trends of sharks. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 72(12), 1853-1859.
Başusta N. 2016. Lenght-weight relationship of sandbar shark Carcharhinus plumbeus Nardo, 1827) in Iskenderun bay (North-eastern Mediterranean Sea). 41. In CIESM Congress. Kiel, Germany.
Bengil E. G. T., Akalin M., Kizilkaya İ. T., Bengil F. 2019. Biology of Shortfin Mako Shark (Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1810) from the Eastern Mediterranean. Acta Aquatica Turcica, 15(4), 425-432.
Bengil E. G. T., Başusta A., Başusta N. 2018. Length-weight relationships of Glaucostegus cemiculus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817) from the Aegean Sea and northeastern Mediterranean coasts of Turkey. Journal of the Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment 24, 1-9.
Bengil E. G. T., Başusta N. 2018. Chondrichthyan species as bycatch: A review on species inhabiting Turkish waters. Journal of the Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment, 24(3).
Bengi̇l E. G., Bengi̇l F., Özaydın O. 2020a. Feeding ecology and reproduction biology of Glaucostegus cemiculus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817) from the eastern Aegean Sea. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 33, 100952.
Bengil F., Özaydınlı M., Bengil E. G. T. 2020b. An evaluation on interaction of Cetaceans with fisheries in the seas around Turkey. Journal of Wildlife and Biodiversity, 4(3), 8-17.
Bilecenoğlu M. 2008. Conservation and monitoring project of sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus) in Boncuk Bay, Gökova special environmental protection area. Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas, Republic of Turkey Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ankara.
Braccini J. M., Gillanders B. M., Walker T. I. 2006. Determining reproductive parameters for population assessments of chondrichthyan species with asynchronous ovulation and parturition: piked spurdog (Squalus megalops) as a case study. Marine and Freshwater Research, 57(1), 105-119.
Bradaï M. N., Saïdi B., Bouaïn A., Guelorget O., Capapé C. 2005. The gulf of Gabès (central Mediterranean): Nursery area for the sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus (Nardo, 1827)(Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae). In Annales: Series Historia Naturalis (Vol. 15, No. 2, p. 187). Scientific and Research Center of the Republic of Slovenia.
Coelho R., Fernandez-Carvalho J., Lino P. G., Santos M. N. 2012. An overview of the hooking mortality of elasmobranchs caught in a swordfish pelagic longline fishery in the Atlantic Ocean. Aquatic Living Resources, 25(4), 311-319.
Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of sharks species known to date. Part 1. Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO, Rome.
Damalas D., Vassilopoulou V. 2011. Chondrichthyan bycatch and discards in the demersal trawl fishery of the central Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean). Fisheries Research, 108(1), 142-152.
Dulvy N.K., Allen D.J., Ralph G.M., Walls R.H.L. 2016. The conservation status of Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras in the Mediterranean Sea [Brochure]. IUCN, Malaga, Spain
Farrell E. D., Mariani S., Clarke M. W. 2010. Reproductive biology of the starry smooth‐hound shark Mustelus asterias: geographic variation and implications for sustainable exploitation. Journal of Fish Biology, 77(7), 1505-1525.
Filiz H. 2019. Year-Round Aggregation of Sandbar Shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus (Nardo, 1827), in Boncuk Cove in the southern Aegean Sea, Turkey (Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae). Zoology in the Middle East, 65(1), 35-39.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2019. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (12/2019).
Giovos I., Chatzispyrou A., Doumpas N., Stoilas V. O., Moutopoulos D. K. 2018a. Using unconventional sources of information for identifying critical areas for the endangered guitarfish in Greece. Journal of the Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment, 24(1), 38-50.
Giovos I., Kleitou P., Paravas V., Marmara D., Romanidis-Kyriakidis G., Poursanidis D. 2018b. Citizen scientists monitoring the establishment and expansion of Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828) in the Aegean Sea, Greece.
Huse I., Lokkeborg S., Soldal A.V. 2000. Relative selectivity in trawl, longline and gillnet fisheries for cod and haddock. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57: 1271-1782.
ICES, 2013. Report of the workshop on Sexual Maturity Staging of Elasmobranchs (WKMSEL). Lisbon.
Jordan L. K., Mandelman J. W., McComb M. D., Fordham S. V., Carlson J. K., Werner T. B. 2013. Linking sensory biology and fisheries bycatch reduction in elasmobranch fishes: a review with new directions for research. Conservation Physiology 1(1). doi: 10.1093/conphys/cot002
Kabasakal H., Bilecenoğlu M. 2020. Shark infested internet: an analysis of internet-based media reports on rare and large sharks of Turkey. FishTaxa, 16, 8-18.
Kabasakal H., De Maddalena A. 2011. A huge shortfin mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1810 (Chondrichthyes: Lamnidae) from the waters of Marmaris, Turkey. In Annales: Series Historia Naturalis (Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 21-24).
Lieber L., Berrow S., Johnston E., Hall G., Hall. J., Gubili C., Sims D.W., Jones C.S., Noble, L.R. 2013. Mucus: aiding elasmobranch conservation through non-invasive genetic sampling. Endangered Species Research, 21(3), 215-222.
Mavruk S., Saygu İ., Bengil F., Alan V., Azzurro E. 2018. Grouper fishery in the northeastern Mediterranean: An assessment based on interviews on resource users. Marine Policy, 87, 141-148.
Moore A. B. 2017. Are guitarfishes the next sawfishes? Extinction risk and an urgent call for conservation action. Endangered Species Research, 34, 75-88.
Official Gazette 2018. Regulation “4/1 Numaralı Ticari Amaçlı Su Ürünleri Avcılığının Düzenlenmesi Hakkında Tebliğ (Tebliğ No 2016/35)’de Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Tebliğ (No 2018/19)”. World Wide Web Electronic regulation. Retrieved in 17/07/2020 from https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2018/04/20180419-7.htm.
Serena, F., 2005. Field identification guide to the sharks and rays of the Mediterranean and Black Sea, Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. Rome, FAO.
Ward‐Paige C. A., Keith D. M., Worm B., Lotze H. K. 2012. Recovery potential and conservation options for elasmobranchs. Journal of Fish Biology, 80(5), 1844-1869.
Yemisken E., Dalyan C., Eryilmaz, L. 2014. Catch and discardfish species of trawl fisheries in the Iskenderun Bay (Northeastern Mediterranean) with emphasis on lessepsian and chondricthyan species. Mediterranean Marine Science, 15(2), 380-389.