What are elasmobranchs
Elasmobranchs are a group of cartilaginous fish that includes sharks, rays, and chimaeras.
Biological traits
They have cartilage-based skeletons instead of bones and most species reproduce slowly.
Vulnerability to fishing
Their slow growth and low fertility make them vulnerable to overfishing.
About Us
The mission
The Gulf Elasmo Project is a non-profit initiative based in the United Arab Emirates. It’s mission is to advance research, education and conservation of elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, guitarfishes and sawfishes) in the Arabian Seas region.
- Goal: to improve knowledge about sharks and rays in the Arabian Gulf region.
- Method: data is collected at landing sites and markets in cooperation with local fishers.
- Impact: findings support conservation and sustainable management efforts.
GULF
The Gulf, in the context of this project, refers to a broad area in the Northern Indian Ocean.
ELASMO
Elasmobranchs represent a group of over 1200 species of sharks and batoids (rays, guitarfishes, sawfishes, and skates).
PROJECT
The Gulf Elasmo Project aims to better understand elasmobranch species, their numbers, and distribution.
This project has been partly funded by the Shark Foundation.
The Angola Elasmo Project
It was launched in October 2016 by Ana Lucia Furtado Soares and aims to assess the impacts of artisanal fisheries on elasmobranchs in Angola. The main objectives are to identify and characterize the artisanal fisheries operating along the coast by collecting information on gear characteristics, catch locations, and fishery targets; assess the diversity and relative abundance of sharks and rays landed; and collect biological information of species occurring in landings.
The project is coordinated by
- Dr. Rima w. Jabado
Founder and Lead Scientist - Ana Lucia Furtado Soares
Educational Coordinator