Chondrichthyan distribution atlas within French marine waters

• Main Authors: Bisch, Amaëlle, Stephan, Pauline, Barreau, Thomas, Bousquet, Caroline, Durieux, Éric, Elliott, Sophie, Mayot, Sébastien, Lapinski, Matthieu, Rohr, Alexandra, Stephan, Éric, Bouet, Marion, Santoni, Marie-Catherine, Dorémus, Ghislain, Laliche, Clémence, Paillon, Christelle, Coulon, Noémie, Labourgade, Pierre, Carpentier, Alexandre, Delesalle, Marine, Acou, Anthony
• Other Authors: Patrimoine naturel (PatriNat), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Office français de la biodiversité (OFB), Station Marine de Dinard, MNHN, France, Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli Université de Corse Pascal Paoli, Partenaires INRAE, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Association AILERONS (AILERONS), APECS (Association pour l’Etude et la Conservation des Sélaciens) France, Office de l'Environnement Corse, Observatoire pour la Conservation de la Mégafaune Marine (PELAGIS), LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France Energies Marines Brest, Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Université de Rennes (UR), Ministère de la Transition écologique et de la Cohésion des Territoires (Direction de l'Eau et de la Biodiversité - ELM3), Rapport d'expertise de PatriNat et de l'Université de Corse
• Format: Report
• Language: French
• Published: HAL CCSD 2024
• Subjects: Rays; Sharks; Elasmobranchs; Presence absence maps; Fishing gears; Size; Depth; MSFD; Raies; Requins; Chimères; Elasmobranches; Cartes de distribution; Présence/absence; Engins de pêche; Taille; Profondeur; DCSMM; Programme de mesure; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics; Phylogenetics and taxonomy; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: https://mnhn.hal.science/mnhn-04475562; https://mnhn.hal.science/mnhn-04475562v3/document; https://mnhn.hal.science/mnhn-04475562v3/file/Atlas-Elasmo_v2024-04-17_vf_corrigee.pdf

Currently, 106 species of chondrichthyans (40 rays, 59 sharks, and 7 chimaeras) can be found in the marine waters of metropolitan France. 14 chondrichthyans are listed on French IUCN red list and/or national and international legislations and most of them (63 species) are Data Deficient as a result of lack of data. The protection of these populations has been problematic because the conservation status and spatial distribution of most species are not well known or poorly understood. This chondrichthyan distribution atlas, aims to address measures under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), which requires mapping of the presence of these species within French marine waters. Capture data from onboard observers on commercial fishing vessels, scientific surveys, and citizen science data from 2003 to 2021 were compiled. Given the mobile nature of these species, the study area includes waters up within the North-east Atlantic, specifically Greater North Sea (including Kattegat and English Channel), Celtic Seas, Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Coast, and French western Mediterranean waters. Each species has a fact sheet that includes 1) maps of raw occurrences broken down by 3 regions (MSFD marine waters of North East Atlantic; the Gulf of Lion, and Corsica); 2) information on the ecology (seasonality and depth of captures) and 3) capture by fishing gears and according to their length. To address potential miss-identification issues and identify areas where the presence of a species is unlikely, a certainty of data occurrence index has been implemented. These results are commented on by French chondrichthyans experts in the species sheets, and information on historical distributions or taxonomy, where appropriate, is also provided. The relevance of this Atlas to implementing chondrichthyan conservation measures to meet MSFD requirements are discussed. Actuellement, 106 espèces de chondrichtyens (40 raies, 59 requins et 7 chimères) sont présentes de manière régulière ou occasionnelle dans les eaux maritimes de ...