Life history aspects of two species of the Squalus genus in the Eastern Ionian Sea

What is it about?

Both, longnose spurdog and spiny dogfish exhibit slow growth, late age at maturity and low fecundity. Moreover, they are vulnerable to overexploitation and population depletion. In the Mediterranean basin, data on the biology, distribution and exploitation of both species is still very poor. This work provides new information on several aspects on the biology and feeding habits of both sharks in the Eastern Ionian Sea.

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Why is it important?

Understanding the biology and ecology of sharks is important in managing fisheries. The current state of our knowledge and the practices employed in shark fisheries is problematic for their proper conservation and management, and is characterized by lack of good data on catch, effort, discards and landings as well as basic biological data.The present study provided new information on several biological aspects of both species of Squalus in the Eastern Ionian Sea, trying to address the gaps in knowledge and to serve as a baseline for future comparisons.