A few days ago I found an interesting news: "They discovered in the Gulf of Cadiz a ray believed to be endemic at the Mediterranean".
Effectively, researchers from the oceanographic centers of the Balearic Islands, Málaga and Cádiz, from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), together with scientists from the University of the Balearic Islands and the Environmental Protection Agency of the Italian Tuscan Region (ARPAT) , have published the first record confirmed genetically and morphologically of the ray “Raja asterias”, in waters of the Atlantic, specifically in those that bathe the gulf of Cadiz. It is a species considered hitherto endemic to the Mediterranean and listed on the IUCN Red List, as almost endangered.
The ray "Raja asterias"
According to a joint statement from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness with the IEO, it is a species of condrictio fish, a group especially vulnerable to the effects of fishing, which lives on the bottom, mainly in shallow waters, no more than 200 metres deep. Its maximum size oscillates among 70 and 90 centimetres approximately.
The specimen studied, a mature female of just over 60 centimetres and 1.5 kilograms, was caught in bottom trawling during the fishing resource assessment campaign, ARSA. These campaigns are carried out annually in the trawl fishery of the Gulf of Cadiz.
The Gulf of Cadiz (Costa de la Luz, South western Spain)
According to the note, "this discovery indicates the need to include the Atlantic population of this species of ray, in the description of its geographical distribution, and in future assessments of its state of exploitation".
Well, I hope that you have liked this article and hope that you can come to Cadiz, in order that you can enjoy this and another fishes.
Until my next post, kind regards,
Luis.
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