First Descriptions of Endoparasite Fauna of Elasmobranch and Mesopelagic Teleost Bycatch Fishes from the Western North Atlantic Pelagic Longline Fishery

Natural mortality is a poorly known aspect of fisheries biology, despite its importance in stock assessments and population analysis. Of potential sources of mortality and morbidity in fishes, the effect of internal parasites is perhaps the least studied even though these organisms are known to inhibit nutrient uptake and stimulate an inflammatory response in fish. Parasite taxa of the pelagic elasmobranchs silky and night sharks and pelagic stingray ( Carcharhinus falciformis , C. signatus and Pteroplatytrygon violacea ), and the mesopelagic teleosts sailfin lancetfish, oilfish, snake mackerel, escolar and Atlantic pomfret ( Alepisaurus ferox , Ruvettus pretiosus , Gempylus serpens , Lepidocybium flavobrunneum , and Brama brama ) are described from the western North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Parasite taxa included cestodes, trematodes, acanthocephalans, and nematodes. Suggested protocol revisions to current accepted laboratory methods will enhance future parasite taxa descriptions from pelagic marine fishes. This work serves as the first parasite taxa and load descriptions for pelagic stingray, lancetfish, oilfish, snake mackerel, escolar and pomfret.