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Species belonging to the superorder Batoidea have been poorly assessed due to the lack of information on their life history aspects and their limited economic value. This work presents an overview of skates and rays inhabiting the marine Greek waters and reports biodiversity issues requiring resolution for conservation purposes. Overall, 30 species from nine families and 16 genera have been documented within the past 22 years, based on the available literature and technical reports from research surveys of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR). However, 28 species are currently confirmed, since the presence of two rajids has not been sufficiently demonstrated and hence is considered as doubtful. Recent changes in nomenclature allowed us to replace old with new names in four species on the Greek list; patterns in the frequency of occurrence were observed and species were assigned into five categories; and diversity and misidentification issues were reported by family. Although Greek waters are oligotrophic and not considered a biodiversity hot spot for elasmobranchs, a high number of batoid species is documented in the area; therefore, the need to reinforce knowledge on biological aspects of skates and rays, define their status and identify their main threats is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elasmobranchs are sensitive marine species due to their K-strategic life characteristics in combination with the intensification of fisheries. Despite the regulations and conventions protecting several species, elasmobranchs are still caught as bycatch and landed throughout the Mediterranean, a location where the pressure on shark populations is well documented. Severe knowledge gaps still exist regarding their biology, ecology and the exploitation by fisheries, due to limited research and the fact that in almost all Mediterranean countries, elasmobranchs are recorded by the national authorities in aggregated landing categories. To overcome such issues, we contrasted landings and trade of elasmobranchs using an integrative sampling in auction markets, landing sites, and fish markets at three important sites in Greece, combined with DNA analysis to address mislabeling. Five species contributed more than half of the total elasmobranch catches for all fisheries combined (62.5%); Scyliorhinus canicula (21.6%) and to a lesser extent Dasyatis sp., Mustelus mustelus , Raja radula and Dasyatis pastinaca (12.8%, 11.7%, 9.6%, and 6.9% respectively). Results highlighted that small-scale fisheries underreported catches of threatened elasmobranchs. About 50–60% of the elasmobranch landings were threatened species while in the fish markets the corresponding contribution was reduced to 26%. Mislabeling was common throughout the year with several species sold under different names for increasing profit or to hinder their protection status. The current practices do not satisfy Common Fisheries Policy in terms of treacability, and the fishing of threatened elasmobranchs raises additional concerns as a conservation priority. [Display omitted] • More than half of the elasmobranch landings belonged to threatened species. • Fisheries impact on the threatened elasmobranchs is underestimated. • Low taxonomic resolution in landings favor the illegal trade of threatened elasmobranchs. • Low compliance with the Common Fisheries Policy in terms of traceability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]