Conservation Relevant Fine‐Scale Distribution and Habitat Associations of Threatened Elasmobranchs in Temperate Nearshore Waters

Elasmobranchs are globally threatened and experiencing ongoing declines. Understanding threatened elasmobranch distribution is critical for developing effective marine conservation strategies. However, our knowledge of fine-scale elasmobranch habitat association and distribution in temperate nearshore systems is limited. Here, we examined the presence, relative abundance and habitat association of sharks, skates and rays using benthic baited remote underwater stereo-video systems (SBRUVS). From 772 deployments (682 total hours and 53-min average soak time) across 3 years (2021–2023) and two Scottish sea lochs and adjacent bays, elasmobranchs were detected on 31.2% of deployments (n = 241). Our surveys detected six species of elasmobranchs: flapper skate (Dipturus intermedius), thornback ray (Raja clavata), spotted ray (Raja montagui), lesser-spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula), spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) and porbeagle (Lamna nasus), representing 17.6% of the resident elasmobranch diversity reported to date in UK nearshore waters < 200 m depth. The species detected include two species listed as globally Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, spiny dogfish and porbeagle and one Critically Endangered species, flapper skate. Critically Endangered flapper skate were detected in 5.2% of deployments (n = 40) and were the only species recorded that did not show a relationship between the probability of presence and substratum type. Our findings provide critical data on the fine-scale spatial distribution and habitat association of elasmobranchs, which could be used to inform evidence-based conservation measures and support more consistent and targeted policy action for these species in Scotland.