DNA Barcoding Reveals If Meat of a Shark or Ray is From a Threatened Species

In Brazil, the largest shark meat importer worldwide, sharks and rays are traded as “cação” making it difficult to monitor what species are actually being traded. To assess illegal trade in endangered species in the main fish markets of southern Brazil, DNA barcoding technique (COI analysis) was used to identify shark species. A total of 650 base pairs (bp) of barcode COI from 231 samples were sequenced and analyzed, identifying 12 shark species and four batoid species. About 43.3% of the total sampled consisted of species listed in some IUCN risk category. The species traded included both the Critically Endangered sandtiger shark, Carcharias taurus, and the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphryna lewini, and both the silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis, and the smooth hammerhead Sphyrna zygaena are listed as Vulnerable, and the angular angel shark, Squatina Guggenheim, is listed as Endangered.

Cristina Bernardo C, de Lima Adachi AMC, da Cruz VP, Foresti F, Loose RH, Bornatowski H. (2020) The label “Cação” is a shark or a ray and can be a threatened species! Elasmobranch trade in Southern Brazil unveiled by DNA barcoding. Marine Policy 116(1): 103920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103920