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Pending
Ended
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 prospecting more than 12,000 marine hectares, many in protected areas. Also noteworthy is the unprecedented sighting of a live black devil fish near the coast and the participation in the Tenerife Deep Shark Mission campaign, with the first dive in Spain in a manned submarine with bait to study sharks and rays.
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Condrik is a project promoted 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 for their conservation, with various initiatives and with the objective of shedding light on the apparent ignorance of the situation of these beings in an archipelago as rich in diversity and abundance as that of the Canary Islands. Using non-invasive techniques such as BRUVS, the use of drones and the knowledge of local ecology through fishermen, the association focuses its efforts on the preservation of these important and vulnerable species from a multidisciplinary approach.
During the period between January and July 2025, twelve field trips were carried out in different coastal locations in the southeast and southwest of the island of Tenerife, using standardized methods of visual sampling and remote video with bait (BRUVs) in pelagic, benthic and demersal environments. Together, these actions amount to a total of 100 hours of effort at sea, 54 hours of recording, 20 drone flights, an area of 14,500 hectares (of which 7,340 ha are in Red Natura 2000 protected areas), and six registered species of elasmobranchs of interest: Dasyatis pastinaca, Sphyrna zygaena, Mobula mobular, Galeorhinus galeus, Gymnura tavela and Myliobatis aquila.
In addition, on January 26, 2025, during a research campaign on pelagic sharks, members of Condrik Tenerife saw for the first time a living adult black devil fish (Melanocetus johnsonii), in broad daylight and close to the surface, just 2 km off the coast of Tenerife. This is possibly the first record in the world of this species seen alive under these conditions. Until now, only larvae, dead adult specimens or through recordings with submarines in the depths have been observed.
He also participated in the Tenerife Deep Shark Mission campaign aboard the Pisces VI submarine, whose objective was to search for deep sharks and rays; sampling at a depth of 300 meters. It was the first time that a manned submarine dive has been carried out in Spain with bait to attract sharks and rays and it has been a success, having seen 2 specimens of Cazón (Galeorhinus galeus) on the last outing where Charlie Sarria was accompanied by the 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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