The area holds the regular presence of Atlantic Sawtail Catshark as a resident range-restricted species. This species occurs within the area year-round and is more abundant within the area than adjacent regions of Mediterranean Spain including the Balearic Islands (Rey et al. 2010; Ramírez-Amaro et al. 2020). Catches from benthic trawls from the Mediterranean International Trawl Survey (MEDITS) database from 1995–2015 were compared between the broader Northern Alboran Sea region (Geographical Sub-Area [GSA] 01; encompassing this area), eastern Mediterranean Spain (‘Northern Spain’; GSA06), and the Balearic Islands (GSA05) (Ramírez-Amaro et al. 2020). A total of 3,238 Atlantic Sawtail Sharks were recorded in the broader Northern Alboran Sea region while none were recorded in the two adjacent regions (Ramírez-Amaro et al. 2020). Within the broader Northern Alboran Sea region, a subset of MEDITS data from 1997–2003 identified core abundance centred in a smaller area between 3.5º and 4.0ºW and 400–600 m depth, representing the North Alboran area (Rey et al. 2010). Here, mean abundance peaked at 49.5 individuals/hour of trawling, higher than the next largest catch rate (35.3 individuals/hour) around Alboran Island to the southeast (Rey et al. 2010). Abundance notably decreased both east and west of the area, for example, only a single individual was recorded near the Strait of Gibraltar (Rey et al. 2010). Mature females with egg capsules have been recorded in the area throughout the year suggesting that North Alboran may be important for reproduction (Rey et al. 2010).

Atlantic Sawtail Catshark has a relatively small geographic range and occurs primarily in the Iberian Coast Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) and marginally in the Canary Current LME and Mediterranean Sea LME.