Two decades of citizen science reveal spatial biases and conservation gaps for elasmobranchs along the Mozambican coast

Citizen science platforms play a crucial role in filling knowledge gaps and documenting global biodiversity trends, especially in under-sampled regions such as the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). Here, we assessed the contribution of citizen science data to elasmobranch records in Mozambique, examining species composition, spatio-temporal patterns, and conservation status. This study helps inform policy revision, targeted monitoring, and national reporting in Mozambique using existing citizen scienc