true

ISRA FACTSHEETS

MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEAS REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEAS REGION

Latakia – Baniyas ISRA

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Latakia – Baniyas ISRA

Latakia – Baniyas

Summary

Latakia–Baniyas lies in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and covers ~50 km of the coastline of Syria. The seafloor in this area encompasses very shallow and flat areas, mixed gravel and coarse sand, short stretches of rocky coast, and a steep continental slope extending to deeper waters. This area sits within the North-East Levantine Sea Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area. Within this area there are: threatened species (e.g., Blackchin Guitarfish Glaucostegus cemiculus) and reproductive areas (e.g., Spiny Butterfly Ray Gymnura altavela).

Latakia–Baniyas

Latakia – Baniyas

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Latakia-Baniyas extends along the Syrian coastline of Latakia in the north, to the coast of Baniyas in the south, stretching for ~50 km of coastline. South of Latakia is a long stretch of sandy beach, with dunes, extending almost to Jeble. The area is characterised by a very shallow and flat seafloor. Around Jeble, the coast is mixed gravel and coarse sand, changing to sand immediately below the waterline, and the seabed is relatively flat. This type of coastline continues down to Baniyas, where there is a short stretch of rocky coast. Here, there is a sharp transition from rock to sand a few metres below the sea surface, resulting in a flat seabed up to ~1 km from the coast. Further seawards the seafloor descends sharply at a slope of 10%. Further south, past the rocky outcrops of Baniyas, the coast is again mainly sand to fine gravel, and the seafloor is sandy and flat.

Sea currents in the Levantine Basin off Syria are generally of low intensity (less than 0.2 m/sec). The predominant direction is anticlockwise from south to north, but in some months of the year gyres can form with a resultant northward current adjacent to the coast (Saad 1996). Strong intensity surface currents are present only when induced by wind forces and can reach peaks of over 1 m/sec on such occasions. Such currents are confined to the upper surface layers.

This area sits within the North-East Levantine Sea Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (CBD 2023).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthopelagic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 1,020 m based on the depth range occupied by the Qualifying Species in the area.

CRITERION A

VULNERABILITY

Three Qualifying Species considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ regularly occur in the area. These are the Critically Endangered Blackchin Guitarfish (Kyne & Jabado 2019), and the Endangered Common Smoothhound (Jabado et al. 2021) and Spiny Butterfly Ray (Dulvy et al. 2021).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C1 – REPRODUCTIVE AREAS

Latakia–Baniyas is an important reproductive area for one shark and three ray species.

Data were collected daily between November 2014 and October 2016 from landing site surveys and interviews with fishers capturing sharks and rays. Interviews with fishers gathered information on gear and fishing locations (Alkusairy 2019).

High numbers of juvenile Common Smoothhounds are found year-round in Syrian waters (Alkusairy 2019), with maturity determined based on total length (TL; maturity for males and females is 70–112 and 107–124 cm TL, respectively [Jabado et al. 2021]). A total of 37 pregnant females (with developed embryos) were recorded between August and December, with the size of the largest developed embryo 36.1 cm TL (Alkusairy 2019).  Size-at-birth is 24–45 cm TL (Jabado et al. 2021). Areas considered to be potential nursery grounds for this species are located between Jablah and Baniyas (Alkusairy & Saad 2018).

Landings of 3,303 Blackchin Guitarfish were recorded in Syrian waters between 2014–2016 (Alkusairy 2019), with immature animals recorded throughout the year suggesting a resident population in Syria. Pregnant Blackchin Guitarfish are reported from April to July, with average developed embryo sizes of 32.1 cm TL (Ali 2009). Of 102 specimens examined, there were nine pregnant females with developed embryos. The peak of neonates and young-of-the-year for this species (36–75 cm TL) are recorded in the winter, with the smallest free-swimming individuals similar in size to developed foetuses (Alkusairy 2019). Reproductive areas for this species (where the majority of neonates were recorded) were identified south of Latakia city to the area between Jablah and Baniyas cities, north of Tartous city, and south of Tartous city.

A total of 114 Spiny Butterfly Rays were collected during trawl and benthic longline surveys between 2010–2013 off the Syrian coast, between Raas Albassit and Tartous at depths ranging from 5–60 m (Alkusairy et al. 2014). An analysis of the reproductive biology of the Spiny Butterfly Ray demonstrated that a sustained population is established in the area, and the presence of near-term embryos suggests that these waters may be used as reproductive areas (Alkusairy 2019). In total, 19 eggs and 41 embryos were examined: the developing embryos exhibited an umbilical cord and an external yolk sac, whereas in the fully developed embryos, the yolk sac was reabsorbed and a scar marked the location of the umbilical cord (Alkusairy et al. 2014). Overall, 16 individuals measuring 35–59 cm DW were recorded between November and January suggesting they are neonates and young-of-the-year (Alkusairy et al. 2014). Size-at-birth for this species is estimated at 38–44 cm DW (Last et al. 2016). A total of 1,329 individuals were recorded from landings between 2016–2018 (Alkusairy 2019). Approximately 50% of landings were considered immature and 7% of animals considered neonates (Alkusairy 2019). All samples of Spiny Butterfly Ray with near-term embryos were collected between the cities of Latakia and northern Baniyas (Alkusairy 2019).

Specimens of Thornback Skates collected between 2013–2014 (n = 193) indicated a resident population in Syrian waters (Saad et al. 2018). A total of 2,622 Thornback Skates were also landed from fisheries operating off the Syrian coast between 2014–2016 (Alkusairy 2019). Overall, 80% of these landings were of immature animals and were present year-round. Size-at-birth for this species is reported at 10­–13 cm DW (Last et al. 2016). The peak of Thornback Skate neonates was recorded in spring (14–30 cm DW) (Alkusairy 2019), and reproductive areas were indicated between southern Rass Albassit and Tartous.

Latakia–Baniyas

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