Sigthings of large elasmobranchs from the Mediterranean: new data from MEDLEM database in the last five years (2017-2022)

This contribution aims to increase the information of the MEDLEM (Mediterranean Large Elasmobranchs Monitoring) program, presenting the results of the analyzes on the data collected and acquired in the last 5 years (from 2017 to 2022). There are a further 989 records, relating to 35 taxa from 17 countries and representative of almost all the GSAs of the Mediterranean. The most frequent species reported is the sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus, 31,5% of the records), followed by the bluntnose sixgill shark (Hexanchus griseus, 20,5% of the records). New data on other rare and endangered species of elasmobranchs are reported.

Automated summary

This article presents the results of the analysis of data collected and acquired in the last 5 years by the MEDLEM program, aiming to increase information about large elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean. The most frequent species reported are the sandbar shark and the bluntnose sixgill shark, and new data on other rare and endangered elasmobranch species are also provided.