Elasmobranch captures in shrimps trammel net fishery off the Gulf of Gabes (Southern Tunisia, Mediterranean Sea)

Small-scale fisheries are generally promoted as a sustainable alternative to large-scale industrial fisheries. However, there is recent growing evidence that small-scale fisheries may be the largest threat to marine species of conservation concern. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential impact of the trammel net fishery on elasmobranchs in the Gulf of Gabes, Southern Tunisia. Data are based on 191 shrimp trammel net set (40 mm stretched mesh size) surveys conducted aboard commercial fishing vessels from May to July 2009. Five species of the small coastal elasmobranchs (Mustelus mustelus (Linnaeus, 1758), Mustelus punctulatus Risso 1827, Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758), Dasyatis marmorata (Steindachner, 1892) and Torpedo torpedo (Linnaeus, 1758)) and two species from the large coastal shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus (Nardo, 1827) and Carcharhinus brevipinna (Muller & Henle, 1839)) were recognized as by-catch in this fishery. Elasmobranch by-catch was dominated by sharks (90.3%), smoothhound sharks Mustelus sp. being by far the most important (88.9%) and reflecting their abundance in the area; 58% of the sets caught at least one specimen, with 4.8 +/- 1.3 caught per set. Captures were composed essentially of neonate and juvenile sharks, while the batoids were dominated by mature individuals. This study shows that shrimp trammel nets represent a considerable source of mortality for early life stages of elasmobranch species in the Gulf of Gabes. Additionally, there was a high density of neonates and small juvenile M. mustelus in the Sfax zone, suggesting that these nearshore waters are a nursery grounds for smoothhound sharks. Further research should focus on the incidents of by-catch and evaluate the potential solutions to allow trammel net fisheries to coexist alongside the elasmobranch species.