1. One-third of all elasmobranch species currently known to occur in Papua New Guinea are taken as bycatch in the Gulf of Papua trawl fishery. An ecological risk assessment was conducted on the 16 species of sharks and 23 species of rays caught by the fishery.
2. Eight species were classified to be at low risk, 28 species were at medium risk while three species – Rhynchobatus palpebratus (eyebrow wedgefish), Carcharhinus coatesi (Australian blackspot shark) and Maculabatis astra (blackspotted whipray), all endemic to New Guinea and northern Australia – faced the highest level of risk from the fishery at current fishing levels.
3. There is potential for more vessels to enter the fishery in future, which is likely to elevate the risk for a greater proportion of elasmobranch species. Ongoing monitoring of bycatch levels, supported by biological and ecological studies on frequently caught species, is required to assess and manage risk in the future.
4. The development and use of trawl excluder devices or bycatch reduction devices in this fishery have the potential to reduce bycatch levels and reduce risk levels.

中文翻译：

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巴布亚湾对虾渔业捕获的硬鳃类动物的生态风险评估

1. 目前已知在巴布亚新几内亚出现的所有弹鳃类物种中有三分之一被巴布亚湾拖网渔业误捕。对该渔业捕获的 16 种鲨鱼和 23 种鳐鱼进行了生态风险评估。
2. 8 个物种被归类为低风险，28 个物种处于中等风险，而 3 个物种 - Rhynchobatus palpebratus（眉楔鱼）、Carcharhinuscoatesi（澳大利亚黑点鲨）和Maculabatis astra（黑点鳐），都是新几内亚和澳大利亚北部的特有种– 在目前的捕捞水平下面临来自渔业的最高风险。
3. 未来可能会有更多船只进入渔业，这可能会增加更大比例的硬鳃鱼类的风险。在对经常捕获的物种进行生物学和生态研究的支持下，需要对兼捕水平进行持续监测，以评估和管理未来的风险。
4. 在该渔业中开发和使用拖网排除装置或减少兼捕装置有可能降低兼捕水平和风险水平。