Elasmobranch exploitation in Africa

The impact of fisheries on elasmobranchs in Africa is not well documented. Available data suggest that there are no large shark fishing nations (> 100 00 t year(-1)), reported landings for 1994 being around 39000 t. This value is believed to be a underestimate, because of a lack of data on catches an d landings from the various different fishing methods and the large number of nations fishing in African waters. Existing data are mostly linked to in dustrial fisheries, although the artisanal sector could be responsible for substantial catches. Landed by-catch and discard rates of elasmobranchs are unknown for most commercial fisheries targeting teleosts. Limited data sou rces allowed only crude estimates of catch. The artisanal fishery is calcul ated to land a minimum of 20000 t of sharks, whereas the industrial trawl s ector is likely to catch 23000 t. A conservative estimate for the African c ontinent and the surrounding islands is similar to 95000 t. The quality of catch-and-effort data for both commercial and subsistence fisheries on the African continent needs to be improved, and the by-catch issue should be in vestigated through trained onboard observers.