@article{3057643,
    title = "MEDLEM database, a data collection on large elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean and Black Seas",
    author = "Mancusi, C. and Baino, R. and Fortuna, C. and De Sola, L.G. and Morey, G. and Bradaï, M.N. and Kallianotis, A. and Soldo, A. and Hemida, F. and Saad, A.A. and Dimech, M. and Peristeraki, P. and Bariche, M. and Clò, S. and De Sabata, E. and Castellano, L. and Garibaldi, F. and Lanteri, L. and Tinti, F. and Pais, A. and Sperone, E. and Micarelli, P. and Poisson, F. and Sion, L. and Carlucci, R. and Cebrian-Menchero, D. and Séret, B. and Ferretti, F. and El-Far, A. and Saygu, I. and Shakman, E.A. and Bartolí, A. and Guallart, J. and Damalas, D. and Megalofonou, P. and Vacchi, M. and Colloca, F. and Bottaro, M. and Di Sciara, G.N. and Follesa, M.C. and Cannas, R. and Kabasakal, H. and Zava, B. and Cavlan, G. and Jung, A. and Abudaya, M. and Kolitari, J. and Barash, A. and Joksimovic, A. and Cetkovic, I. and Marčeta, B. and Vilas, L.G. and Tiralongo, F. and Giovos, I. and Bargnesi, F. and Lelli, S. and Barone, M. and Moro, S. and Mazzoldi, C. and Charis, C. and Abella, A.J. and Serena, F.",
    journal = "Mediterranean Marine Science",
    year = "2020",
    volume = "21",
    number = "2",
    pages = "276-288",
    publisher = "Hellenic Centre for Marine Research",
    doi = "10.12681/mms.21148",
    abstract = "The Mediterranean Large Elasmobranchs Monitoring (MEDLEM) database contains more than 3,000 records (with more than 4,000 individuals) of large elasmobranch species from 21 different countries around the Mediterranean and Black seas, observed from 1666 to 2017. The principal species included in the archive are the devil ray (1,868 individuals), the basking shark (935 individuals), the blue shark (622 individuals), and the great white shark (342 individuals). In the last decades, other species such as the thresher shark (187 individuals), the shortfin mako (180 individuals), and the spiny butterfly ray (138) were reported with increasing frequency. This was possibly due to increased public awareness on the conservation status of sharks, and the consequent development of new monitoring programs. MEDLEM does not have homogeneous reporting coverage throughout the Mediterranean and Black seas and it should be considered as a database of observed species presence. Scientific monitoring efforts in the south-eastern Mediterranean and Black seas are generally lower than in the northern sectors and the absence of some species in our database does not imply their actual absence in these regions. However, the available data allowed us to analyse the frequency and spatial distribution of records, the size frequencies for a few selected the available data allowed us to analyse the frequency and spatial distribution of records, the size frequencies for a few selected species, the overall area coverage, and which species are involved as bycatch by different fishing gears. © 2020 Mediterranean Marine Science."
}