Elasmobranch bycatch in Russian fisheries in the Pacific Ocean

Abstract

The official data on Russian catch of sharks, rays and skates in the Pacific region over the last 45 years are analyzed. For Russian fishermen these fish have not commercial value, so when they are incidentally caught, they are not usually retained and not landed but discarded at sea. The total amount and annual dynamics of such bycatches, their distribution by water area, depth, fishing gear and types of fisheries are clarified. The fact that cartilaginous fish are not target fisheries in Russia has a downside. Incompleteness of bycatch accounting and species identification are the reasons that we can operate only with approximate total catches of all sharks and all skates. As a consequence, the low official Russian current total allowable catch of these fishes is estimated formally and remains at the same level for many years. Chimaera catch is generally unknown since in daily vessel reports they are listed as "other fishes". It is shown how to improve national data collection and analysis for elasmobranch monitoring, conservation and possible future sustainable fisheries.