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Research on elasmobranchs
Condrik is a project created by young marine biologists in the Canary Islands to research and conserve sharks and rays using non-invasive methods such as BRUVs, drones and collaboration with local fishermen. Between January and July 2025, they carried out twelve field trips in Tenerife, recording five species of elasmobranchs and surveying more than 12,000 hectares of marine area, many of which are protected areas. Also noteworthy is the unprecedented sighting of a live black devilfish near the coast and participation in the Tenerife Deep Shark Mission campaign, with the first manned submarine dive in Spain using bait to study sharks and rays.
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Condrik is a project driven by young marine biologists, motivated by their desire to conserve elasmobranchs, or sharks and rays. They decided to join forces by creating a research group dedicated to their conservation, with various initiatives and with the aim of shedding light on the apparent lack of knowledge about the situation of these creatures in an archipelago as rich in diversity and abundance as the Canary Islands. Using non-invasive techniques such as BRUVS, drones and knowledge of local ecology provided by fishermen, the association focuses its efforts on the preservation of these important and vulnerable species from a multidisciplinary approach.
Between January and July 2025, twelve field trips were carried out at different coastal locations in the south-east and south-west of the island of Tenerife, using standardised visual sampling and remote video baiting (BRUVs) methodologies in pelagic, benthic and demersal environments. Together, these actions add up to a total of 76 hours of effort at sea, 32 hours of recording, 14 drone flights, an area of 12,654 hectares surveyed (of which 7,340 ha are within Red Natura 2000 protected areas), and five species of elasmobranchs of interest recorded: Dasyatis pastinaca, Sphyrna zygaena, Mobula mobular, Galeorhinus galeus, and Myliobatis aquila.
Furthermore, on 26 January 2025, during a research campaign on pelagic sharks, members of Condrik Tenerife sighted a live adult black devilfish (Melanocetus johnsonii) for the first time, in broad daylight and near the surface, just 2 km off the coast of Tenerife. This is possibly the first record in the world of this species seen alive in these conditions. Until now, only larvae, dead adult specimens or recordings made by submarines in the depths had been observed.
It also participated in the Tenerife Deep Shark Mission campaign aboard the Pisces VI submarine, whose objective was to search for deep-sea sharks and rays, conducting surveys at a depth of 300 metres. This was the first time in Spain that a manned submarine descent with bait to attract sharks and rays had been carried out, and it was a success, with two specimens of tope shark (Galeorhinus galeus) sighted on the last outing, where Charlie Sarria was accompanied by YouTuber and documentary filmmaker Lethal Crysis.
Field trips
12 field trips; 76 hours at sea; 32 hours of recording
Surface area
Area of 12,654 hectares surveyed
Recorded species
5 species of elasmobranchs recorded: Dasyatis pastinaca, Sphyrna zygaena, Mobula mobular, Galeorhinus galeus, and Myliobatis aquila.
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