Results on main elasmobranch species captured during the 2001-2013 Porcupine Bank (NE Atlantic) bottom trawl surveys

Abstract

This working document presents the results on the most significant elasmobranch species of the Porcupine Bank Spanish surveys in 2013. The main species in biomass terms in this survey were Galeus melastomus (blackmouth catshark), Deania calcea (birdbeak dogfish), Deania profundorum (arrowhead dogfish), Scyliorhinus canicula (lesser spotted dogfish), Scymnodon ringens (Knifetooth dogfish), Etmopterus spinax (velvet belly lantern shark), Dalatias licha (Kitefin shark) Hexanchus griseus (bluntnose sixgill shark), Leucoraja circularis (sandy ray), Leucoraja naevus (cuckoo ray), Dipturus nidarosiensis (Norwegian skate) and Dipturus spp. / Dipturus cf. flossada / Dipturus cf. intermedia (common skate). Biomass, distribution and length ranges were analysed. Many of these species occupy mainly the deep areas covered in the survey, especially D. calcea, D. profundorum and S. ringens