Semi-quantitative risk assessment of Chondrichthyan species from coastal Kenya using Productivity and Susceptibility Analysis (PSA)

Quantitative assessments of shark populations are difficult to undertake due to the scarcity of data, and the studies focusing on species identification and landings are limited in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region. Productivity and susceptibility analysis (PSA) were used to examine the impact of the artisanal, bottom trawl and longline fishery on 44 shark species, 38 ray species, seven (7) guitarfish species, three (3) sawfish species, one (1) wedgefish species and one (1) skate species, captured and landed off the Kenyan coast. The IUCN status listings of the assessed species were then compared with the PSA findings to assess efficacy of the PSA in the determination of vulnerability.