First published in Animal Conservation: 17 July 2024,
In the 19th century, frequent landings of spiny butterfly ray were reported in the Adriatic Sea (Kolombatovic, 1886); however, through the 20th century, records of such landings nearly disappeared (Dulcic et al., 2003). There were no records in this century until a large gravid female was recently described in Vlor€e, Albania, marking the first record of a gravid female in the northern Mediterranean (Gajic et al., 2023). The subsequent systematic research conducted by the authors in Vlor€e led to five new findings between 2022 and 2024. Another gravid female (153-cm DW, 24.9-kg TW) bearing seven latestage fetuses, together with an adult male (103 cm DW and 8.15 kg TW) and a juvenile male (63-cm DW, 2-kg TW), were recorded off Zv€ernec, Sazan Island, and Vjose Delta, at the depths of 25 to 30 meters. Local ecological knowledge provided one additional record in 2022, and another one from 2016.
Research activities at Sharklab ADRIA
The study was gratefully funded by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (Project no.: 232532379). Additionally, we are grateful to all our partners, particularly in Albania, for their invaluable assistance during field surveys. During the study, the authors solely observed the catch and conducted interviews with local fishermen. They were in no way involved in or interfered with any fishing activities.