Publication Abstract

Management of elasmobranch fisheries in the North Atlantic

 

Management of elasmobranch fisheries in the North Atlantic

J.R. Ellis*, M.W. Clarke, E. Cortés, H.J.L. Heessen, P. Apostolaki*, J.K. Carlson and D.W. Kulka

 

Sharks, skates and rays (Elasmobranchii) are taken in targeted and mixed commercial fisheries, and are also of interest to recreational fisheries and nature conservation groups. The life history characteristics of elasmobranchs (oftentypified by late age at maturity, slow growth, low fecundity and protracted gestation period) mean that many species can be overfished, and several species/stocks have undergone severe declines in abundance. Although the biological rationale behind their susceptibility to overexploitation was noted by Holden in the 1960s, elasmobranchs were generally overlooked by fisheries managers, despite the fisheries catching them (including pelagic and deep-water fisheries) expanding in the 1970s and 1980s. Interest in managing elasmobranchs has increased since the early 1990s, and although aspects of their life history and ecology are now better known, formal assessments have been undertaken for comparatively few stocks. Here, we provide an overview of the aspects of elasmobranch biology that are important to stock assessment and management, describe the fisheries in the North Atlantic and their management, and summarize relevant nature conservation initiatives.

J.R. Ellis*, M.W. Clarke, E. Cortés, H.J.L. Heessen, P. Apostolaki*, J.K. Carlson and D.W. Kulka

In Advances in Fisheries Science. 50 years on from Beverton and Holt (A.I.L. Payne, A.J. Cotter and E.C.E. Potter, eds.), pp. 184–228. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. xxi + 547 pp.