The label “Cação” is a shark or a ray and can be a threatened species! Elasmobranch trade in Southern Brazil unveiled by DNA barcoding

Sharks exhibit peculiar characteristics, which may lead to overfishing to cause irreversible damage to stocks and failing to restore original population sizes. Although global fin trade has decreased since 2000 meat trade has increased, with Brazil figuring as the largest shark meat importer worldwide. Still, in Brazil, elasmobranchs are traded under the label “cação” making it difficult to monitor what species are actually being traded. To...