Bycatch and incidental catch of the black scabbardfish (Aphanopus spp.) fishery off the Canary Islands

Spatial overlap between the leafscale gulper shark and the black scabbardfish off Portugal

“…In the Azores, deepwater sharks, all species combined represented 5% of the catch in number in longline fisheries (Machete et al 2011). In the Canaries, leafscale gulper shark made up 6% in number and 14% in weight of the total catch in surveys using the commercial fishing longline for black scabbardfish traditionally used in Madeira (Pajuelo et al 2010). In this latter area, the proportion in number of leafscale gulper sharks was 0.13, as calculated in the present study.…”

Catch and post-release mortalities of deep-water sharks caught by bottom longlines in the Cantabrian Sea (NE Atlantic)

“…Since 2012, the EU Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for deepwater sharks has been set at zero, and no bycatch is permitted (Council regulation EU 104/2015). Nevertheless, they are still taken by deep-water longline fisheries targeting other species, such as black scabbard fish (Pajuelo et al, 2010;Coelho et al, 2012) and by trawlers targeting crustaceans or commercial teleosts (Carbonell et al, 2003;Coelho et al, 2005)). For further review on shark bycatch see Kelsey et al, (2015) and Molina and Cooke (2012).…”

Application of otolith mass and shape for discriminating scabbardfishes Aphanopus spp. in the north‐eastern Atlantic Ocean

“…It usually inhabits between 200 and 1700 m depth, being most abundant at 700-1300 m. Specimens are most common at shallower depths on the continental shelf and deeper on island slopes (Nakamura & Parin, 1993;Morales-Nin & Sena-Carvalho, 1996). This species is economically valuable in fisheries in Madeira and ICES subareas V, VI, VII, IX and XII (http://www.neafc.org/page/577); the status of the fisheries and associated bycatch has been widely studied, and different stocks have been identified (Morales-Nin et al ., 2002;Pajuelo et al ., 2008Pajuelo et al ., , 2010Bordalo-Machado et al ., 2009;Costa et al ., 2009;Farias et al ., 2009;Gordo, 2009;Gordo et al ., 2009;Neves et al ., 2009;Santos et al ., 2009;Vieira et al ., 2009;Machete et al ., 2010). Stefanni & Knutsen (2007) used genetic markers and found that Aphanopus intermedius Parin 1983 also occurs in coastal waters of the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Morocco and Western Sahara, which were thought to be inhabited only by A. carbo.…”