Evolution of catches and specific composition of elasmobranchs in Mauritanian artisanal, coastal and offshore fisheries

Elasmobranchs are among the most vulnerable marine fish and the most impacted by fishing. In Mauritania, although many management and prohibition measures have been introduced, this taxonomic group continues to be caught and landed. To follow trends of catches and catch species composition by the different fishing fleets in Mauritania we used the data from the fisheries monitoring system set up by the Mauritanian Institute of Oceanographic Research and Fisheries (IMROP) collected since 2006 in the National Park of Banc d′Arguin (PNBA). These data are supplemented by the monitoring data on the artisanal, coastal, and deep-sea fisheries, and the data from the scientific demersal trawling campaigns in the Mauritanian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that IMROP has been conducting since 1982. The results show that elasmobranch catches are highest in the artisanal and coastal fisheries, particularly in the PNBA, where several conservation measures for these species have been put in place. These results suggest that there is a need to strengthen the implementation of the shark management plan by a strict application of the prohibition of gear targeting these species.