Mohamed Al Hajaji

• Biodiversity Journal, 14 (3): 0459-0480

  Esmail Shakman, Aisha Siafenasar, Khaled Etayeb, Ali Shefern, Abdalaha Elmgwashi, Mohamed Al Hajaji, Nauroz bek Benghazi, Abdalha ben Abdalha, Mehdi Aissi & Fabrizio Serena
  National Inventory and status of Chondrichthyes in the South Mediterranean Sea (Libyan Coast)
  https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2023.14.3.459.480

  ABSTRACT
  Libya has the longest coastline in the southern Mediterranean Sea, which is distinguished by the diversity of habitats and marine species; chondrichthyans are one component of this diversity. They are vulnerable to overexploitation due to their reproduction pattern and are generally regarded as a few resilient species. A total of 59 Elasmobranchs belonging to 24 families have been recorded along the Libyan coast out of about 88 documented species (FAO, 2018a; FAO, 2018b; Serena and Barone, 2023). Most of these species breed in the central part of Libya (Gulf of Sirt). A total of 8 elasmobranchs species were identified as by-catch in the Libyan tuna longline fishery (Prionace glauca, Isurus oxyrinchus, Odontaspis ferox, Alopias superciliosus, Heptranchias perlo, Mustelus mustelus, Pteroplatytrygon violacea and Carcharhinus plumbeus). The Tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier, is the most recently documented species on the western coast of Libya. This study provides some important information on elasmobranchs in Libyan waters to fill the gap of knowledge about these species in Libya and the southern Mediterranean regions.

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