A study by the Government and IMEDEA demonstrates the effectiveness of the closure of the razor fish (Xyrichtys novacula) in its recovery in the waters of the Balearic Islands

Joan Simonet: "Sustainability-based fisheries management is key to ensuring the future of marine biodiversity and fisheries, and this research is an example."

 Raor (Xyrichtys novacula). Foto: GOIB Raor (Xyrichtys novacula). Foto: GOIB

The Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, through the Institute for Agri-Food and Fisheries Research and Training of the Balearic Islands (IRFAP) and the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies of the University of the Balearic Islands (IMEDEA), demonstrates in a study the effectiveness of the closure of the razor fish (Xyrichtys novacula) in the recovery of this species in the waters of the Balearic Islands. Minister Joan Simonet explained that "sustainability-based fisheries management is key to ensuring the future of marine biodiversity and fisheries, and this research is an example." Furthermore, he noted that "the characteristics of the raor make it one of the most appreciated species in the archipelago's gastronomy."

As part of the METARAOR project, funded by the 2021-2023 State Plan for Scientific, Technical, and Innovation Research, a research team from IRFAP, together with a team from IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), compared the biological data of more than 5,000 raors in samples collected before the approval of the Order establishing the ban with samples collected when the ban was already in effect. Specifically, they evaluated size, live weight, liver weight, and gonad weight, in addition to various morphological parameters. They also analyzed the movements of raor specimens within and outside of marine protected areas using transmitters and receivers, and conducted molecular studies of genetic diversity.

The data analyzed has shown that the raor ban, in effect since 2000 (currently between April 1 and August 31), results in larger, more resilient, and more reproductively capable specimens. One of the factors demonstrated is that, thanks to this measure, the raor changes sex when it reaches 18 cm, compared to 14 cm before the ban was implemented. According to Dr. Amàlia Grau, a researcher at IRFAP, "this aspect is fundamental for the sustainability of the raor, since larger females produce a greater number of eggs." In this regard, Grau noted that this is a sequential hermaphroditic species (individuals are born female and, depending on environmental conditions, some change sex to male), and that recreational fishing typically caught the largest males, forcing the females to transform prematurely and at a smaller size, thus reducing their reproductive potential.

On the other hand, Grau stated that "marine reserves of fishing interest play a key role as genetic biodiversity banks. By protecting greater genetic diversity of the species, it becomes more resilient to threats such as climate change, pollution, and overfishing."

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