Shark and ray identification manual

for observers and crew of the western and central Pacific tuna fisheries

by Timothy Park, Lindsay Marshall, Aymeric Desurmont, Boris Colas and Neville Smith

The SPC Shark and ray identification manual for observers and crew of the western and central Pacific tuna fisheries has been developed to improve the identification of shark and ray species encountered in the tropical and subtropical tuna fisheries of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), as well as informing on correct methods for their handling and release. The manual is designed to be a concise field guide for use by fisheries observers and fishers who collect the operational data and whose reports are the principal sources of catch information for fisheries management in the world’s largest tuna fishery.

Although sharks and rays are an incidental bycatch of pelagic tuna fisheries, these fisheries are accredited with causing significant declines in the populations of some shark and ray species. The 44 shark and ray species in this guide include those with adaptations to being pinnacle predators, huge planktonic feeders or small parasitic predators of large pelagic fish and mammals. These species are included because they are caught incidentally, or are set on because of their association with tuna, or interact with fishing operations through their depredation of the catch in the WCPO tropical and subtropical tuna fisheries.

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