Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Sicily Marine Center, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo (complesso Roosevelt), 90149, Palermo, Italy.
Department of Earth and Marine sciences (DiSTeM), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 20-22, 90123, Palermo, Italy.
Nat Commun. 2022 Aug 9;13(1):4381. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-32035-3.
Elasmobranchs are heavily impacted by fishing. Catch statistics are grossly underestimated due to missing data from various fishery sectors such as small-scale fisheries. Marine Protected Areas are proposed as a tool to protect elasmobranchs and counter their ongoing depletion. We assess elasmobranchs caught in 1,256 fishing operations with fixed nets carried out in partially protected areas within Marine Protected Areas and unprotected areas beyond Marine Protected Areas borders at 11 locations in 6 Mediterranean countries. Twenty-four elasmobranch species were recorded, more than one-third belonging to the IUCN threatened categories (Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered). Catches per unit of effort of threatened and data deficient species were higher (with more immature individuals being caught) in partially protected areas than in unprotected areas. Our study suggests that despite partially protected areas having the potential to deliver ecological benefits for threatened elasmobranchs, poor small-scale fisheries management inside Marine Protected Areas could hinder them from achieving this important conservation objective.
鲨鱼类鱼受到渔业的严重影响。由于各种渔业部门（如小规模渔业）的数据缺失，捕捞统计数据被严重低估。海洋保护区被提议作为保护鲨鱼类鱼和遏制其持续减少的一种工具。我们评估了在 6 个地中海国家的 11 个地点的海洋保护区内部分保护区和海洋保护区边界外的无保护区进行的 1,256 次固定网渔业作业中捕获的鲨鱼类鱼。记录了 24 种鲨鱼类鱼，其中超过三分之一属于 IUCN 受威胁类别（易危、濒危或极危）。在部分保护区内，受威胁和数据不足物种的单位捕捞努力量的渔获量更高（被捕捞的未成年个体更多）。我们的研究表明，尽管部分保护区有可能为受威胁的鲨鱼类鱼带来生态效益，但海洋保护区内小规模渔业管理不善可能会阻碍它们实现这一重要的保护目标。
