Molecular identification of shark species commercialised in the ‘17 de Diciembre’ market, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas-Ecuador

ABSTRACT

This is the first study to determine the main shark species being sold in the ‘17 de Diciembre’ market, in Santo Domingo de Los Tsáchilas, Ecuador. A total of 150 samples were collected and molecularly identified through a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with species-specific primers based on the ribosomal region ITS2. As a result, we found that the shark sales are made up by five main species. The pelagic thresher (Alopias pelagicus) was the most common species, followed by the silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis), the scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini), the blue shark (Prionace glauca) and the shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus). Of the analyzed samples, 93.24% (n = 138) correspond with species that are in one of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat categories and Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The study highlights the need for this molecular tool to be implemented in strategic control points, as well as other measures that better ensure traceability.

Key policy insights

• Four of the five identified species are in Appendix II of CITES.

• 93.24% of the identified individuals are found in one of the threat categories of IUCN.

• The shark meat in the ‘17 de Diciembre’ market is cheaper in comparison with most bony fishes that are commercialized.

KEYWORDS:

• Conservation
• commerce
• genetic identification
• ITS2
• multiplex PCR
• sharks

Acknowledgements

We thank MSc Fidel Rodríguez for his support during this research. We also thank the fish inspectors Diego Bermúdez, Ermen Moncayo, Jonathan Arteaga and Darwin Andino for their openness and trust during our conversations and for facilitating the acquisition of the shark samples in the market.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Geolocation information

The ‘17 de Diciembre’ market is located on Jacinto Cortéz Avenue, in the west of Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas Province, Ecuador. Latitude, Longitude: −0.25685451003141, −79.1857774928212

UTM: 701,909.496E 9971595.486N 17M

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Central University of Ecuador through the use of the research laboratory at the Faculty of Biological Sciences and the involved researchers.

Notes on contributors

Ana Belén Manzanillas Castro

Ana Belén Manzanillas Castro has a BSc in biological and environmental sciences from the Faculty of Life Sciences of the Central University of Ecuador. She is especially interested in studies on marine ecosystems and their biodiversity and conservation.

Camila Acosta-López

Camila Acosta-López is a biotechnologist who graduated from the University of San Francisco de Quito, and holds an MSc. in Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology from Imperial College London. Her main interests are conservation genetics, population genetics and ecological genomics.