The Unseen Crisis of Sharks and Rays in Senegal

ABSTRACT Many shark and ray species are currently traded at unsustainable levels. Demand and the high value of their derivative products (including fins and meat) have contributed to severe population declines worldwide. We provide a conservative quantitative assessment of shark and ray landings at two major artisanal fishery processing sites in southern Senegal. Between June 2021 and July 2022, we surveyed Kafountine and Elinkine in the Casamance region, documented species composition and temporal trends in landings, and contextualized reported trade data using processing‐site observations. We directly counted 100,281 individual sharks (13 species), rays (13 species), and guitarfishes (two species). By conservatively extrapolating quantities from stacks and piles where individuals were not fully visible, we estimated minimum landings of 173,902 individuals. Rays dominated landings by number ( n = 140,259; 80.7% of total landings), followed by guitarfishes (18,705; 10.8%), and sharks (14,938; 8.6%). By biomass, guitarfishes accounted for the largest proportion of recorded landings. Overall, 99.9% of the total biomass of species with an IUCN Red List of Threatened Species status (82.6% of total biomass; 292.1 tons) comprised species threatened with extinction. A substantial proportion of total biomass (76.5%) originated from species listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), providing evidence of non‐compliance with CITES requirements, as export of these species during the study period were not accompanied by corresponding permits in the CITES Trade Database. Our results show that artisanal fisheries operating likely contribute significantly more to shark and ray mortality in Senegal than industrial fleets, yet remain largely unmonitored. To prevent the collapse of shark and ray stocks in West Africa, urgent action is needed to strengthen fisheries monitoring, improve traceability and enforcement of trade regulations, and enhance regional cooperation.