CERSE: Central and Eastern Red Sea Elasmobranchs

Elasmobranch populations in the Red Sea are declining due to intense fishing activity. Effective conservation requires informed management strategies, yet our understanding of their distribution in the basin is limited. This study introduces CERSE (Central and Eastern Red Sea Elasmobranchs), the most extensive compilation of elasmobranch data in the Central and Eastern Red Sea. Gathering information from scientific cruises, surveys, and literature, we recorded 2847 sightings using various methods. This dataset is vital for assessing elasmobranch populations and will guide future research and conservation efforts in the region., This study encompasses a total of 2847 sightings recorded through different techniques. The data come from surveys conducted during two scientific cruises, The Red Sea Decade Expedition (RSDE) and the Southern Red Sea Expedition (SRSE), a time-series survey from The Red Sea Project area (RSG), and information extracted from literature., , # CERSE: Central and Eastern Red Sea Elasmobranchs

## Summary

The aim of the study is to address the alarming declines in elasmobranch populations in the central and eastern Red Sea. To develop effective conservation strategies, the study compiles extensive data on elasmobranch observations in the aforementioned regions. This data, gathered from scientific cruises, surveys, and peer-reviewed literature, represents the most comprehensive dataset on elasmobranchs in this area of the Red Sea.

## Description of the data and file structure: CERSE.csv

CERSE contains general information on all the observations gathered for all the different datasets analyzed in this study (RSDE, SRSE, Literature, RSG), with taxonomic information at different levels (Group, Family, Genus, Species), depth, and coordinates of the record, pelagic habitat, survey method, Dataset of origin, environmental factors

*Date: date of recording (dd/mm/yy)
*Time: time of sighting in UTC (not available for all the sighti...