Catch abundance and fishing season from vulnerable and endangered Elasmobranch species in Tanjung Luar Fishery

The elevated extinction risk of elasmobranchs is proportional with the increase of fishing mortality due to overfishing. Indonesia is the biggest shark fishing country in the world, with Tanjung Luar as a fishing village specifically targeting sharks. More than 30 species of sharks and rays that have been landed in Tanjung Luar recently received increased conservation status under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This research aimed to analyze the catch abundance of vulnerable or endangered elasmobranchs in Tanjung Luar and identify the fishing seasons. Four years of landing monitoring data from 2014-2017 were analyzed the fishing seasons and fisheries pattern of vulnerable or endangered elasmobranchs species in Tanjung Luar, calculated Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) based on fishing power index and also fishing season index. The CPUE of sharks and rays from 2014 to 2017 fluctuated but was not significantly different. We found that shark fishing season occurred in six months and ray fishing season occurred only in four months. The results suggested that management measures should focus on gear control and spatio-temporal closures which could have significant benefits for the conservation of elasmobranch species, and may help to improve the overall sustainability of the fishery.