Composition and abundance of elasmobranchs caught by bottom longline off western Ceará State

Abstract

The present study reports the composition and abundance of elasmobranch species captured by bottom longline between the shelf break and the upper continental slope (off western Ceará State, in 90 – 360 m depth) during two journeys of the “School Boat Project” in 2005 and 2006 organized by the Instituto de Ciências do Mar (LABOMAR) of the Universidade Federal do Ceará. The specific composition of the catches were consisted by 138 elasmobranch specimens from four orders and six families, including Squalidae e Triakidae which were the most representatives in number of individuals with 89.1% of all captured animals. Seven species of elasmobranch were captured and the most abundant were: Squalus mitskurii (45.7% of individuals), Squalus cubensis (25.4%) and Mustelus canis (18.1%). Although the present paper contributes to the acknowledgment about composition and abundance of elasmobranch species of the shelf break and the upper continental slope from Northeastern Brazil, more studies are necessary to understand the subject.