Coastal sharks and rays in a marine protected area in southernBrazil

Abstract

In southern Brazil, we investigated shark and ray capture records in an integral protection marine protection area (MPA) that allows fishing in that area. We found 10 shark and nine ray species, of which 88.5% and 66.2%, respectively, are endangered. Female adults and neonates of both sexes are abundant in the area, with records of stranding of large specimens, postcapture abortions and ovigerous capsules with fresh embryos on the beach. We suggest the application of continuous fisheries monitoring and an increase in guidelines on the capture of endangered species.conservation, elasmobranchs, endangered species, Lagoa do Peixe National Park Coastal regions of southern Brazil are areas with frequent presence of species of sharks, including pregnant females and neonates (de Chelotti & Santos, 2020;Vooren & Klippel, 2005). However, these regions have an intense fishing effort due to recreational fishing from the coast or pier (Motta et al., 2016), artisanal fishing practiced in shallow waters (de Chelotti et al., 2019;Santos et al., 2016) and industrial fishing carried out at greater depths between 50 and 200 m. This makes the coastal region an area with great difficulty in controlling fishing mortality (de Chelotti & Santos, 2020;Vooren & Klippel, 2005).Marine protected areas (MPAs) in the coastal region have an important role, providing a reduction of fishing mortality (Rolim et al., 2019) and, sometimes, overlapping with nursery areas, which are critical for the conservation of these species (Heupel et al., 2019;Vooren & Klippel, 2005). The absence of fishing in MPAs can still con-

Dual‐method survey of recreational fishing for guitarfishes in Southern and Southeastern Brazil

“…Our findings confirmed previous studies that reported capture of all three guitarfish species by recreational fishers in the same region, with low catches, particularly during warm months (Lewis et al., 1999; Motta et al., 2016; Peres & Klippel, 2005; Santos et al., 2021). However, scarce detailed catch information hinders assessment of the current status of recreational fishery harvest of guitarfishes.…”

Occurrence, distribution and threats to mobulid rays in Brazil: A review and updated database

“…Live M. thurstoni specimens were documented only in the SPSP and Fernando de Noronha archipelagos. The remaining 72 records were obtained from fisheries captures (Casas et al, 2006;Gadig et al, 2003;Jucá-Queiroz et al, 2008;Santos et al, 2021) Northeast Brazil (Jucá-Queiroz et al, 2008;Santander-Neto & Faria, 2020). This later record reinforces the possible connectivity between the oceanic islands in the Northeast and the continental shelf through the Fernando de Noronha Seamount Chain, as suggested for other elasmobranch species (Barcellos et al, 2022).…”

Retrieving records of a rare and threatened shark in a mosaic of marine‐protected areas of southeastern Brazil

“…The sharks were concentrated mainly in insular areas within a mosaic of state (The São Paulo Marine Environmental Protection Area of the South Coast, APAMLS – Sustainable Use) and federal (The Tupiniquins Ecological Station, EETUPI – No Take/Integral Protection) protected marine areas (23 sharks – 76.67%), followed by captures of G. cirratum in nearby coastal regions, with gravel bottom (7 sharks – 23.33%). This result reinforces the benefits of MPAs for the conservation of species such as G. cirratum (and also of other elasmobranchs) (Bonnin et al ., 2021; Santos et al ., 2021; Motta et al ., 2022; Rolim et al ., 2022), as well as highlights the importance of the mosaics of protected areas to reduce conflicts between users, allowing certain activities such as fishing in some places and restricting its practice in others.…”