DNA barcoding reveals overlooked shark and bony fish species in landing reports of small-scale fisheries from northern Peru

Abstract

Species-level identification of commercially landed fish provides pivotal information for stock assessment and fishery management. However, there is a common lack of species determination in landing records from small-scale fisheries (SSFs) worldwide. Using DNA barcoding analyses, we detected four overlooked bony fish (yellow snapper, union snook, blackspot wrasse, and steeplined drum) and one shark species (the sicklefin smooth-hound) in official landing records of SSFs from northern Peru. Of particular concern is the sicklefin smooth-hound shark Mustelus lunulatus that was found to be overlooked and could mistakenly be landed as the humpback smooth-hound M. whitneyi. Increased efforts should be made to improve species identification capacities in Peruvian fishing landings. There is an urgent need to quantify the catch levels of members of the genus Mustelus to species level. This would contribute to a better understanding of the levels of exploitation in each particular species and to improved management decisions.

Proposal of Brotulella n. gen. for Monogeneans from the Gills of the Pacific Bearded Brotula Brotula clarkae Hubbs, 1944 (Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae) Based on Morphological and Molecular Evidence

“…Peru, as other Neotropical countries, harbors a rich fauna of fishes, especially a large number of bony fishes [1]. Regarding its marine ichthyology diversity, a total of 698 fish species have been reported belonging to 388 genera and 138 families [2], most of them recorded from the northern sea, being one of the richest marine ecosystems in Peru [3].…”