Line of action:

Status:

Execution date:

The Angelshark(Squatina squatina) is a critically endangered species worldwide, included in the Spanish Catalogue of Threatened Species, whose stable populations have seen their geographical distribution reduced in the Canary Islands Archipelago, mainly due to threats related to overfishing. This species uses sheltered bays of the islands as critical breeding and nursery areas, which means that tourism development endangers its survival. This second phase of the study of their circadian and seasonal rhythms, as well as their movements in the surroundings of these areas and towards deep waters, will allow us to broaden our knowledge of the ecology of the species and guide management measures that contribute to making their recovery compatible with the tourist use of these areas.

The main objective of the project has been to study the spatio-temporal behavior of the Angelshark and its interaction with human activities in the environment of critical areas for its conservation, contributing to its future Recovery Plan.

Specific objectives include:

• Consolidate the acoustic telemetry network already initiated in the SW of Gran Canaria to monitor the behavior of the species in the environment of critical areas for its conservation.
• Develop new methodologies and strategies to complement the effectiveness of the fixed acoustic monitoring network with mobile receivers (from boats and/or connected to autonomous vehicles) to study the “dark phase” of the Angelshark, coinciding with its seasonal migration to deep waters.
• Promote governance and social participation processes around the conservation of the species: contributions to the Recovery Plan.
• Dissemination of the results to society and awareness of the conservation of the species.

• Installation and maintenance of new acoustic receivers.
• Placement of new acoustic tags on adult specimens (marking of 9 angelsharks).
• Campaigns to support monitoring with mobile receivers.
• Data analysis.
• Transfer of results.
• Activities to promote management measures in critical conservation areas.
• Dissemination and communication of the project.

The angelshark(Squatina squatina) is a benthic shark species that is currently endangered. The project is based on a study of their populations in the Canary Islands, considered the only place in the world with healthy populations.

For its preservation, the ACUSQUAT II project has aimed to gather as much information as possible on the behavior, migratory habits and distribution of the species, with the intention of being able to draw up a future conservation and recovery plan for its populations in the Canary Islands.

The project has increased the information available on the breeding behavior of the Angelshark, confirming that it approaches sheltered coastal areas, mainly in the winter months, between November and February, when mating occurs, and then moves to deeper waters. Again, they return to the coast before the beginning of summer, between May and July, for the birth of their young. According to the results, these juveniles tend to remain in these sheltered areas during their first year of life. The rest of the year (spring and autumn), they remain in deep areas, between 70 and 150 meters deep. These data have been obtained by means of a network of acoustic receivers on the south and southwest coast of Gran Canaria, capable of capturing the presence of adult Angelshark specimens that were previously marked with transmitters. The previous network of receivers already installed with the ACUSCUAT I project, also supported by the Fundación Biodiversidad, has been reconditioned and 9 adult specimens of the species have been tagged. To support the fixed network of receivers covering an area of approximately 500 hectares, a prototype autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV ) carrying a mobile receiver was also developed at ACUSQUAT-II. During the development of the initiative, 4 monitoring campaigns have been carried out, detecting 4 tagged specimens.

Numerous outreach activities have been carried out The project’s work included participation in two congresses, the publication of an article and an informative video, and the elaboration of a small guide for seafarers to facilitate the proper handling of angelsharks for the removal of hooks. Overall, about 20,000 people have been reached.

In this sense, the citizen science methods used in the framework of the project have allowed the collection of information provided by fishermen, divers and scientists, reporting sightings and accidental captures of adult Angelshark specimens close to 100 meters deep, including images recorded with the help of ROVs at depths of around 120 meters.

Finally, the initiative has highlighted that, in the islands, one of the most worrying problems for the survival of the species is that many of the reproductive areas coincide with beaches of high interest and tourist development, such as Las Teresitas (in Tenerife), Puerto Rico, Anfi del Mar or Amadores (in Gran Canaria), Jandía or El Castillo (in Fuerteventura) and Playa Blanca (in Lanzarote), among many others, where it is stressed the need to make a major effort to transfer information and awareness to the users of these beaches, Jandía or El Castillo (in Fuerteventura) and Playa Blanca (in Lanzarote), among many others, where the need to make an important effort to provide information and raise awareness among the users of these areas in order to make the survival of the species compatible with the enjoyment of the natural and leisure resources offered by the beaches of the Canary Islands is emphasized.