Survey of biodiversity and biological information obtained from chondrichthyan bycatch. Aboard observer program in the province of Chubut, Argentina.

BOVCON NELSON DARIO; COCHIA PABLO DANIEL; GÓNGORA MARÍA EVA; VUCICA MARÍA; FERNÁNDEZ MARCELO

Viña del Mar

Workshop; 7th International Fisheries Observer and Monitoring Conference; 2013

Instituto de Fomento Pesquero

In the Argentine Sea over a hundred species of cartilaginous fish are caught by directed fisheries or as bycatchby commercial fleets, craft and also sport fishing and recreational. Given the characteristics of livingchondrichthyans, they respond quickly to environmental effects and adverse anthropological presentingprolonged periods of reaction to the conservation and management measures. Growing concern for the statusof some species of sharks and rays led to their inclusion in the appendices of the Convention on InternationalTrade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on Migratory Species,based on reports produced by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN list includesseveral species of the Argentine Sea in different categories. For this reason IUCN has promoted theimplementation of programs for the collection and evaluation of biological data and marketing of listed species,resulting in the development of the National Action Plan for the Conservation and Management ofchondrichthyans (sharks, rays and chimaeras ).The overall objective is to ensure the conservation andsustainable management of chondrichthyans in the areas under the jurisdiction of Argentina following theguidelines of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries of FAO and the ecosystem approach to fisheriesmanagement. Since 2001 the province of Chubut has fisheries monitored (between 43° and 47° South) by theBoard Observer Program (POBCH). The program not only gets information from the target species, but also of all species caught, with the goal of advancing an ecosystem approach to fisheries. Since 2010, recognizing theneed to advance the understanding of the biology of chondrichthyans caught by fleets POBCH monitors, workbegan on the training of observers and to develop a working protocol for the collection of chondrichthyanbiological information that was possible to carry out on board fishing vessels.. There has been the capture of 29chondrichthyan species (10 sharks, 18 batoids, 1 chimera) of which four species identified are categorized as?at risk? and four as ?vulnerable? by the IUCN. This survey helped to identify chondrichthyan diversity of thearea and expand the knowledge of the distribution of 7 species batoids. Moreover, biological informationobtained shows that fishing takes place in areas in which specimens? congregate newborns, juveniles and adults.It is extremely important to maintain the continuity of these surveys to monitor the population dynamics ofthese species.