Nearly 400 Nursehounds Released Back into the Sea

The Regional Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, Joan Simonet, together with the Director General for Fisheries, Antoni M. Grau, and the Director General for the Natural Environment and Forest Management, Anna Torres, took part in the latest release of 30 juvenile nursehounds (Scyliorhinus stellaris) at the Cabrera Archipelago Maritime-Terrestrial National Park.

With this operation, the Balearic Government has brought the ‘Petits Taurons – Acció Stellaris’ project to a close. This pioneering conservation initiative was designed to strengthen populations of the species through captive breeding and their subsequent return to the natural environment. Since its launch, the project has released 389 juvenile specimens back into the wild, establishing itself as one of the most significant elasmobranch conservation initiatives carried out in Europe.

Regional Minister Joan Simonet highlighted that “‘Petits Taurons – Acció Stellaris’ is an example of what can be achieved when public authorities, the scientific community and environmental organisations work together towards a shared goal: protecting our natural heritage. Today, we conclude a project that leaves a highly valuable legacy both for the conservation and protection of the nursehound and for scientific knowledge of the species.”

Simonet also stressed that the project had successfully achieved its objectives: “This is not the end, but the beginning of a new chapter. All the experience gained and scientific knowledge generated over these years will now be incorporated into the elasmobranch conservation strategy promoted by the Government through the Marine Conservation Plan and the Action Plan for the Conservation of Sharks and Rays in the Balearic Islands, with the aim of continuing to advance the protection of the archipelago’s marine biodiversity.”

The completion of ‘Petits Taurons – Acció Stellaris’ therefore marks the beginning of a new stage in elasmobranch conservation in the islands. The experience gained will make it possible to broaden the involvement of experts and organisations and to continue implementing conservation measures for these species.

It should be recalled that the nursehound is an elasmobranch species listed as endangered in the Red Book of Vertebrates of the Balearic Islands, which underlines the need to promote active conservation measures aimed at strengthening its populations.

The ‘Petits Taurons – Acció Stellaris’ project began taking shape in 2018 through a partnership between the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment and the Palma Aquarium Foundation. The Cabrera Archipelago Maritime-Terrestrial National Park has been actively involved in the initiative since 2020.

Since the initiative began, almost 400 juvenile nursehounds have been returned to the natural environment. They were raised from eggs incubated at the Cabrera National Park Visitor Centre, the Marine Research and Aquaculture Laboratory (LIMIA) and the Palma Aquarium Foundation. Of these specimens, 211 were reintroduced in Cabrera National Park, 57 in the El Toro Marine Reserve, 60 in the Bay of Palma Marine Reserve, 41 in Sa Dragonera Natural Park and 20 in the Sóller area.