true

ISRA FACTSHEETS

EUROPEAN ATLANTIC

ISRA FACTSHEETS

EUROPEAN ATLANTIC

El Reducto ISRA

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El Reducto ISRA

El Reducto

Summary

El Reducto is situated in the east coast of Lanzarote Island in the Canary Islands, Spain. The area features nearshore benthic habitats dominated by open sand and rocky reefs. It overlaps with the Oceanic Islands and Seamounts of the Canary Region Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area. Within this area there are: threatened species and reproductive areas (Angelshark Squatina squatina).

El Reducto

El Reducto

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

El Reducto is located on the east coast of Lanzarote Island in the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago in the northeast Atlantic, consisting of eight main islands and five islets, situated ~100 km from the northwest African coastline. The area is characterised by shallow habitats with open sand and rocky reef substrates.

The area is strongly influenced by the Eastern Boundary Upwelling System, the Canary Current, and Calima events (Sahara Desert dust). The Azores High Pressure System and trade winds drive complex patterns of seasonal upwelling, temperature fluctuation, and ocean stratification, leading to high productivity and nutrient richness along the West African continental shelf, which in turn influences environmental and biological conditions across the Canary Islands. The islands and waters to the furthest northeast of the Canary Islands have an oceanic desert climate, characterised by low rainfall and northerly prevailing winds (Vázquez et al. 2024).

The area overlaps with the Oceanic Islands and Seamounts of the Canary Region Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (EBSA; CBD 2025).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 40 m based on the bathymetry of the area.

CRITERION A

VULNERABILITY

One Qualifying Species considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species regularly occurs in the area. This is the Critically Endangered Angelshark (Morey et al. 2019).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C1 – REPRODUCTIVE AREAS

El Reducto is an important reproductive area for one shark species.

Since 2015, the Angel Shark Project has conducted a combination of underwater visual census (UVC) surveys, tagging, and citizen science data collection in the Canary Islands. Visual transects and tagging surveys were conducted across the Canary Islands in high suitability areas (Meyers et al. 2017), potential nursery areas (Jimenez-Alvarado et al. 2020), and locations where Angelsharks are regularly observed. Within this area, four survey campaigns were conducted between 2017–2021 with each campaign consisting of one night survey. Of the 33 Angelsharks recorded in the area, 30 were measured and tagged with 90% (n = 27) classified as neonates, 7% (n = 2) as young-of-the-year (YOY), and 3% (n = 1) as adults (Angel Shark Project unpubl. data 2025). Individuals were classified as neonate/YOY as they measured <40 cm total length (TL), which is close to their reported size-at-birth (26–30 cm TL; Ebert et al. 2021). In addition, three neonate Angelsharks were reported by local dive centres during a single dive conducted in 2021. This is one of the three areas around Lanzarote Island with the highest number of neonate/YOY recorded among eight locations surveyed (Jiménez-Alvarado et al. 2020). The regular presence in high numbers of immature individuals in this area over multiple years suggests that it is potentially used as a nursery area.

El Reducto

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