JAEPRE23 -23- Spatio-temporal dynamics of oceanic sharks and rays interacting with tropical tuna fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean and risk assessments for informing spatial management tools for bycatch reduction

The sustainability of tuna fisheries still faces many challenges protecting Endangered, Threatened and Protected (ETP) species that interact with their fishing operations. Understanding the species distributions and their environmental preferences is essential to identify bycatch hotspots of ETP species and minimize their interactions with tuna fisheries. This PhD project will (1) model the spatio-temporal patterns of bycatch and environemntal preferences of oceanic sharks and rays as well as the fishing activity of major fleets in the tropical Atlantic in order to predict high bycatch risk areas, and (2) develop spatially-explicit ecological risk assessment to simulate current and future changes in vulnerability status of oceanic sharks and rays under the influence of current and future hypothetical conservation and management measures. Ultimately, this PhD project aims to improve our understanding and management of ocean biodiversity and fisheries in the high seas by increasing the capacity of international fisheries management organizations to integrate spatial ecology tools into ecosystem-based fisheries management, and ensure tuna and billfish fisheries continue providing food security, vital livelihoods and economic benefits around the world while safeguarding marine biodiversity.