Materials and methodsIn
the UNESCO held Bijagós Archipelago, regional in-migrantshave managed and controlled commercial SSF operations out ofseasonal settlements or fishing camp enclaves, for several decades. Theyinclude fishers, processors and traders who transform the catch ucsahcc@ucl.ac.ukthrough sun-drying, smoking and salting before transhipment tonumerous mainland markets. A specific tendency for SenegaleseNhyominka fishers, to focus on sharks and rays has been described. Between 2009 and 2010 twenty-eight elas-mobranch species were documented in Guinea-Bissau; yet despite the regions diversity, the ‘critically endan-gered’ sawfishes continue to receive greatest attention . Most recent saw-fish sightings have now been dated back to the 1980s and morecontemporary studies link their demise with a growth in commer-cial SSF . The indigenous occupants ofthe archipelago are subsistence agriculturalistsrather than fishers . Their animistic beliefs; reverence of spirits and the age-structured socio-cultural system which governs their secret initiation process, haveall been used to highlight a ‘cultural connection’ with their environ-ment. Many areas across the archipelagoare locally sacred and attempts are made to restrict fishing at cer-tain times. The islands therefore provide an interesting case, for notonly investigating elasmobranch capture but also understandingmore ‘traditional’ ways of managing fishing effort.