Sharks, skates and rays

Elasmobranchs in the North-east Atlantic have been exploited for several hundred years, with historical fisheries targeting basking shark, skates, spurdog and porbeagle.

The life-history characteristics of elasmobranchs, including large size, low fecundity, protracted reproductive cycle, and slow growth, makes them susceptible to over-exploitation.

The evolution of relevant fisheries management measures will be described, with recent progress in our understanding of elasmobranch populations in the North-east Atlantic summarised, and ongoing and emerging issues highlighted.

Speaker

Jim Ellis has a BSc (Honours) degree in Zoology with Marine Zoology, a PhD in the biology of elasmobranch fishes. He joined the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS, formerly MAFF’s Directorate of Fisheries Research) in 1997, working on the fisheries ecology of elasmobranch fishes, ichthyology, trawl surveys and benthic ecology.

He is the Director of Cefas’ Fisheries International Centre of Excellence, a member of several ICES Working Groups, including the Working Group on Elasmobranch Fishes and the International Bottom Trawl Survey Working Group, the vice chair of the CMS-Sharks-MOU Advisory Committee. In addition to his contributions to ICES and provision of advice to Defra, he has authored numerous scientific publications and was one of the editors of the recent "Fish atlas of the Celtic Sea, North Sea, and Baltic Sea".

How to attend

This seminar is being held in person in STEM 3.1 (STEM Centre on Square 1, Colchester campus). You can also join this talk on Zoom (meeting ID: 925 4561 0277)

If you have any queries about this seminar please email Dr Anna Sturrock (anna.sturrock@essex.ac.uk).