Chondrichthyes, an ancient and diverse class of vertebrates, are crucial to the health of marine ecosystems. Excessive demand for chondrichthyan products has increased fishing pressure, threatening ~30 % of species with extinction in recent decades. India is the second-largest shark landing nation globally and the province of Gujarat, is the largest contributor to its shark exports. Despite their significant contribution to global fish supplies, chondrichthyan fisheries in Gujarat remain understudied and many species, data deficient, posing challenges to the conservation of remaining populations in the region. Here, we report results from taxonomic assessment of elasmobranchs at four key landing sites in Gujarat. We identified thirty-one species of sharks and rays with a significant bias towards capture of females and juveniles by fisheries. Our data indicate presence of nursery areas for species such as Sphyrna lewini and Rhynchobatus laevis in the neritic areas off Gujarat. Further, we discovered extensions of the current distribution range for three species -Torpedo sinuspersici, Carcharhinus sorrah and the Rhinobatos punctifer. Taxonomic identities for a subset of species were confirmed using genomic analyses conducted with portable DNA sequencing tools. We present assessments for six data deficient species in the region – Rhinobatos annandalei, Rhinoptera jayakari, Maculabatis bineeshi, Pateobatis bleekeri, T. sinuspersici and Carcharhinus amboinensis. Last, we describe the extent of mechanization in fishing fleets and the proportion of elasmobranch catch across fishing ports in Gujarat. Our investigation underscores species with urgent conservation needs and reduces data deficiencies. These data will inform and pivot future scientific and conservation efforts to protect the most vulnerable Chondrichthyes in the Arabian Seas Region.

中文翻译：

---

减少数据不足：印度的Elasmobranch渔业初步调查，确定范围的扩大以及女性和青少年着陆的比例较大

软骨鱼类是古老而多样的脊椎动物，对海洋生态系统的健康至关重要。对软骨鱼类产品的过度需求增加了捕捞压力，在最近几十年中，约有30％的物种濒临灭绝。印度是全球第二大鲨鱼着陆国，而古吉拉特邦则是其鲨鱼出口的最大贡献者。尽管古吉拉特邦的软骨鱼类渔业对全球鱼类供应做出了巨大贡献，但仍然研究不足，许多物种缺乏数据，给该地区其余人口的保护构成了挑战。在这里，我们报告了古吉拉特邦四个主要着陆点的弹性分支的分类学评估结果。我们确定了31种鲨鱼和rays鱼，它们对渔业捕捞雌性和少年有很大的偏见。我们的数据表明在古吉拉特邦附近的针叶林地区存在诸如Sphyrna lewini和Rhynchobatus laevis物种的苗圃区。此外，我们发现了三种鱼类的当前分布范围的扩展，这些物种是：雷公鱼雷，印度Car鱼和犀牛。使用便携式DNA测序工具进行的基因组分析可以确认物种子集的分类学身份。我们目前对该区域的六个数据不足物种进行评估-Rhinobatos annandalei，Rhinoptera jayakari，Maculabatis bineeshi，Pateobatis bleekeri，T。sinuspersici和Carcharhinus amboinensis。最后，我们描述了捕鱼船队的机械化程度以及古吉拉特邦各渔港的弹bra捕获量。我们的调查强调了迫切需要保护的物种并减少了数据不足。这些数据将为将来保护阿拉伯海地区最脆弱的软骨鱼类的科学和保护工作提供信息和指导。