Rhinobatos annandalei, Bengal Guitarfish

The Bengal Guitarfish (Rhinobatos annandalei) is a small (to 95 cm total length) guitarfish that occurs in the northern Indian Ocean from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Bangladesh, including Sri Lanka. The western boundary of this species distribution is uncertain due to confusion with the Spotted Guitarfish (R. punctifer). It is demersal on the inner continental shelf at depths of 5–73 m. The species is mainly a bycatch of a range of industrial and artisanal gears including demersal trawls, longlines, and gillnets. The meat is consumed locally and traded internationally, and the skins are exported from Bangladesh to Myanmar to be made into accessories (e.g. handbags). There is a high level of fisheries resource use and increasing fishing pressure across the range of this species. Severe population reduction is inferred from actual levels of exploitation, as well as several historical accounts and contemporary datasets from the UAE, Iran, Pakistan, and India. Landings data of guitarfishes and rays from the UAE, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh indicate landings declines of 69–93% consistent with population reductions of 80% over the past three generation lengths (27 years). These levels of declines are not species-specific but are informative for understanding the broader levels of guitarfish decline in the region. It is suspected that the Bengal Guitarfish has undergone a population reduction of >80% over the past three generation lengths (27 years) due to actual levels of exploitation, and it is assessed as Critically Endangered A2d.