Spatial conservation of large mobile elasmobranchs requires an understanding of spatio-temporal seascape utilization

Published source details Henderson C.J., Stevens T., Gilby B.L. & Lee S.Y. (2018) Spatial conservation of large mobile elasmobranchs requires an understanding of spatio-temporal seascape utilization. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 75, 553-561.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Cease or prohibit all types of fishing in a marine protected area Action Link

Cease or prohibit all types of fishing in a marine protected area

A site comparison study in 2015–2016 of five areas of mixed seabed type (sand/seagrass/mangrove) in the Tasman Sea, eastern Australia (Henderson et al. 2018) found that over 15 months, giant shovelnose rays Glaucostegus typus spent more than half of the time inside marine reserves where all fishing was prohibited compared to fished areas outside, and it varied seasonally. Data were not statistically tested. Overall, rays were detected inside no-fishing areas compared to fished areas 58% of the days. In addition, ray detections inside the no-fishing reserves varied with season (winter: 53%, rest of year: 23%). Shovelnose rays were tracked from January 2015 to March 2016 in and around five marine reserves (fishing and extractive activities prohibited; the year established was not reported) located in Moreton Bay Marine Park. A total of 20 rays were surgically fitted with acoustic transmitters and released at two seagrass sites adjacent to reserves. The rays were tracked by 28 receivers (covering 180 km²) located in no-fishing and fished areas. Tracking data were analysed for 16 rays detected by receivers for longer than seven days, up to the removal of the receivers fifteen months later.

(Summarised by: Natasha Taylor)