6533b7d9fe1ef96bd126b9a9

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Modeling the distribution of thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) in the southern Grand Banks (Newfoundland, Canada)

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Globally, commercial fisheries have had a strong impact on elasmobranch populations directly through high catch rates and indirectly through bycatch. Consequently, the abundance of many species is declining to the extent that some are considered under threat of extinction. Regionally, this negative trend is also evident in the international waters of the southern Grand Banks (off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada), where the occurrence of the thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) has declined by nearly 70% in recent decades. This study used Bayesian species distribution models to investigate the habitat preference and biomass trends of the thorny skate during a 14-year period (2003–2017), linking five environmental predictors (i.e., bathymetry, sea bottom temperature, seabed aspect, slope, and rugosity) and prey distribution with fishery-independent data. Our findings identify some of the sensitive habitats for this species and the ecological factors that may be driving its population dynamics in the area. We argue that knowledge about the factors influencing the distribution of this species and spatiotemporal effects could be exploited as potential mitigation measures for future fishery management strategies.