Point Sur is an important area for undefined aggregations of one chimaera species.

The West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey (WCGBTS) is conducted annually between May –July and August–October along the USA west coast between the USA-Canada border and the USA-Mexico border, at depths ranging from 55 to 1,280 m (Keller et al. 2017). The survey area is subdivided into ~12,000 equal-area grid cells, from which 188 cells are randomly selected each year within depth and latitudinal strata to ensure representative spatial sampling. All sharks captured are sorted to species level (or the lowest possible taxonomic resolution) and weighed, and subsamples of selected species are measured. The trawl net used in the survey has a headrope measuring 25.9 m and a footrope measuring 31.7 m. Trawling is conducted during daylight hours at a target speed of 2.2 ± 0.5 knots, with a standard tow duration of 15 minutes (~0.55 km) (Keller et al. 2017).

Between 2011–2025, 8,338 tows were conducted in the entire survey area, 43 of which were within this area (1.0%) (NOAA NWFSC FRAM 2026). Whitespotted Chimaeras were captured in 4,429 tows in the entire survey area (53.1% of total tows) at depths between 2.3–958.7 m and were captured in 39 tows within this area (90.7% of tows in this area) at depths between 72.8–453.7 m. Based on Kernel Utilization Distribution (KUD) weighted by catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE; number of individuals per square kilometre; ind/km²), this area is one of the only five areas with KUD >75% along the USA west coast. Of the 10 highest CPUEs along this coast, one is within this area (121,557.8 ind/km²). The average CPUE for the remaining 42 tows with Whitespotted Chimaera in this area was 8,309.5 (maximum = 47,595.7 ind/km²). Outside this area, the average CPUE of the remaining 4,381 tows with Whitespotted Chimaera captures (also not considering the nine highest values) is 1,200.5 ind/km². The average maximum number of individuals in a single tow that had Whitespotted Chimaera captures in this area was 176.2, while outside this area it was 24.3 for the same average area (0.02 km²) (NOAA NWFSC FRAM 2026).

Data comprised the number of individuals and total kilograms per species in each tow, and the Precaudal Length (PCL) was calculated based on the length-weight relationship (King & McPhie 2013). The average size of individuals in tows outside this area ranged 6.3–106.1 cm PCL compared to 6.7–44.2 cm PL (average = 32.8 cm PCL) within this area. Size-at-maturity for the species is 30.2 cm PCL for males and 39.3 cm PCL for females (King & McPhie 2013) indicating that aggregations were mainly composed of subadults. Whitespotted Chimaera are known to form large aggregations that can be size-specific (Barnett et al. 2009).  Sharks, rays, and chimaeras can aggregate in high density areas resulting in large catches in specific areas within the broader seascape (e.g., Bizzarro et al. 2014). Elevated CPUE relative to surrounding areas can be used as an indicator of aggregations of deepwater species (Orlov & Volvenko 2022). Specifically for chimaeras, high densities of individuals have been shown to be indicative of aggregations (Finucci et al. 2018).

Between 2006 and 2010, video transects were conducted using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and benthic towed camera sled as part of a larger project at North Monterey Bay, La Cruz Canyons, and within this area (Point Sur and Point Lobos) (Kramp 2012). The total area sampled was 174.7 km. Within this area, the number of Whitespotted Chimaera per km was 1.0 at Point Lobos and 2.0 at Point Sur, while outside this area, it was 0.1 and 0.7. The total number of individuals was 149 (121 measured; n = 96 were <44 cm TL and were classified as juvenile), of which 101 were from this area. One aggregation of at least 31 individuals (mostly juveniles) was observed in this area along with other loose aggregations of 3–8 individuals. The only other aggregation outside this area was recorded in southern North Monterey Bay and was formed by 29 individuals (Kramp 2012). Further information is required to understand the nature and function of these aggregations. 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