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Advancing research and conservation

YOUR eyes on Elasmos

Promoting citizen science
Using your EYES to make a difference

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.

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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