Results on main elasmobranch species captured during the 2001-2014 Porcupine Bank (NE Atlantic) bottom trawl surveys

• Main Authors: Fernández-Zapico, O. (Olaya), Velasco, F. (Francisco), Baldó, F. (Francisco), Rodríguez-Cabello, C. (Cristina), Ruiz-Pico, S. (Susana)
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Centro Oceanográfico de Santander 2015
• Subjects: Elasmobranches; Distribution; deep sea; Porcupine Bank; bottom trawl survey; Canicula; Common skate; Dipturus nidarosiensis; North Atlantic; Northeast Atlantic; Norwegian skate
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10508/9381

This working document presents the results on the most significant elasmobranch species of the Porcupine Bank Spanish surveys in 2014 and updates the documents presented in previous years with the information in the whole historical series from 2001. The main species in biomass terms in this survey were Galeus melastomus (blackmouth catshark), Deania calcea (birdbeak dogfish), Scymnodon ringens (Knifetooth dogfish), Dipturus nidarosiensis (Norwegian skate), Scyliorhinus canicula (lesser spotted dogfish), Etmopterus spinax (velvet belly lantern shark), Hexanchus griseus (bluntnose sixgill shark), Dalatias licha (Kitefin shark), Leucoraja circularis (sandy ray), Dipturus cf. flossada, Leucoraja naevus (cuckoo ray) and Dipturus cf. intermedia (common skate). Biomass, distribution and length ranges were analysed for these species. All the species analysed increased its biomass in 2014, except S. canicula and D. cf. flossada that decreased. D. calcea individuals smaller than 65 cm were captured again in 2014 after not having been captured the previous year, although catches were very low. Raja brachyura was recorded for the first time in the survey area.