A review of potential taxonomic barriers to the effective management of Gulf elasmobranch fisheries

Species-specific biological data are commonly combined with fishery operational data to model exploited stocks and determine appropriate levels of exploitation. However, this approach to fishery management is predicated using the' to 'predicated on the ability of fishery data collectors to correctly identify exploited species. Sharks and other elasmobranch fishes (Elasmobranchii) can be particularly difficult to identify in the field, due to the close physical similarity to other species and/or a lack of taxonomic resolution in some lineages. This paper provides an overview of the difficulties surrounding the field identification of a number of elasmobranch species found in the Arabian/Persian Gulf, where they are heavily exploited and in urgent need of careful management.