Peru has globally important elasmobranch fisheries, and mobulids are no exception. However, little is known about Peru’s small-scale mobulid fisheries. Mismatches between fishing reports and studies regarding species occurrence suggest a problem in identification methodologies of mobulids at the species level. This is supported by evidence of external resemblance between species, landings of incomplete bodies, and the use of a single name for the five species known to occur in Peruvian waters (“Manta” for Mobula birostris, Mobula munkiana, Mobula mobular, Mobula tarapacana and Mobula thurstoni). Given the need for improved conservation and management measures of mobulids in Peru, we tested the applicability of DNA barcoding combined with morphological identification to better understand mobulid catches by small-scale fisheries in north Peru. A total of 137 samples of muscle tissue from mobulids captured during fishing activities were collected of which 99 amplified and analysed for Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit I (COI). Samples of the five species known to occur in Peru were obtained, confirming captures of all of them by local fisheries. Morphological identification allowed us to correctly identify more than 94% of specimens to the species level even though most of them arrived butchered (e.g., only pectoral fins). Increased capacity building and training for morphological identification of mobulid species by field observers, authorities, and fishermen, combined with molecular tools, is highly recommended to avoid mistakes in landings reports and to correctly enforce conservation measures for these species.

秘鲁拥有全球重要的软骨鱼类渔业，鳃鱼类也不例外。然而，人们对秘鲁的小规模鲇鱼渔业知之甚少。捕捞报告与关于物种发生的研究之间的不匹配表明，在物种水平上鉴定鲇鱼的方法存在问题。这得到了物种之间的外部相似性证据、不完整尸体的着陆以及对已知出现在秘鲁水域的五个物种使用单一名称的证据的支持（“Manta”代表 Mobula birostris 、Mobula munkiana、Mobula mobular 、 Mobula tarapacana和鲇鱼). 鉴于秘鲁需要改进鲇鱼的保护和管理措施，我们测试了 DNA 条形码结合形态学鉴定的适用性，以更好地了解秘鲁北部小型渔业的鲇鱼捕获量。总共收集了 137 个捕鱼活动期间捕获的鲇鱼肌肉组织样本，其中 99 个被放大并分析了细胞色素 C 氧化酶亚基 I (COI)。获得了秘鲁已知的五种物种的样本，证实了当地渔业对所有这些物种的捕获。形态学鉴定使我们能够正确识别超过 94% 的标本到物种水平，即使它们中的大多数到达时是被屠宰的（例如，只有胸鳍）。加强实地观察员对移动物种形态识别的能力建设和培训，