First Record of the Longfin Mako Shark for Puerto Rico

First Confirmed Record of the Longfin Mako Shark (Isurus paucus) for Puerto Rico Mignucci-Giannoni AA, Cintrón-Nieves D, Franqui-Rivera G, Espinoza R, Orcera-Iglesias JM, Rivera-Ilarraza PJ, Rivera-Pérez CI, Rodríguez-Ferrer G. ABSTRACT: Isurus paucus (Longfin Mako) is a mesopelagic shark inhabiting tropical and subtropical waters. While records of Longfin Makos have been documented for the Western North

Performance of Two Survey Gears Targeting Elasmobranchs

Performance of Two Survey Gears Targeting Elasmobranchs in a Shallow, Subtropical Estuary Grace Roskar, Michael P. McCallister, Matthew J. Ajemian ABSTRACT: Fishery‐independent surveys have become increasingly prevalent in recent decades for monitoring the population trends of highly mobile species like elasmobranchs (sharks and rays). Despite the utility of gear evaluations for streamlining costs and increasing

First study on age and growth of the deep-water Goblin Shark

First study on age and growth of the deep-water Goblin Shark, Mitsukurina owstoni (Jordan, 1898) Fabio P. Caltabellotta, Zachary A. Siders, Gregor Cailliet, Fabio S. Motta, Otto B. F. Gadig ABSTRACT: Due to poorly mineralizing structures, ageing deep-water elasmobranchs requires nonconventional techniques. The aim of the present study was to develop a reliable ageing technique

Tourism-driven ocean science for sustainable use: A case study of sharks in Fiji

Tourism-driven ocean science for sustainable use: A case study of sharks in Fiji C A Ward-Paige, J Brunnschweiler, H Sykes ABSTRACT: The oceans are in a state of rapid change – both negatively, due climate destabilization and misuse, and positively, due to strengthening of policies for sustainable use combined with momentum to grow the blue

Morphological deformities in the pelvic fin and clasper in Potamotrygon marquesi

Morphological deformities in the pelvic fin and clasper in specimens of Potamotrygon marquesi (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes: Potamotrygoninae) João Paulo Capretz, Batista da Silva, André Luis da Silva Casas ABSTRACT: We report deformities in the pelvic fin and clasper skeleton in specimens of Potamotrygon marquesi from Acre, Northwestern Brazil. The malformations involve skeletal deformities in the pelvic

Texas Game Wardens Bite Down on Shark Finning Offenders in Houston, Dallas

News Release Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 5. February 2020 — — — — — — — — — — AUSTIN— Texas Game Wardens are filing several Class B misdemeanor charges on 10 restaurants and markets in the Houston and Dallas area for selling shark fins and shark fin products. “Protecting the many shark species

WPLG Local 10: $700,000 worth of shark fins confiscated in Miami

Recreational fishers catching more sharks and rays

Press Release The University of British Columbia Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries 27. January 2020 — — — — — — — — — Recreational fishers are increasingly targeting sharks and rays, a situation that is causing concern among researchers. A new study by an international team of scientists reveals that recreational catches of

Diel patterns in swimming behavior of the bluntnose sixgill

Diel patterns in swimming behavior of a vertically migrating deepwater shark, the bluntnose sixgill (Hexanchus griseus) Daniel M. Coffey, Mark A. Royer, Carl G. Meyer, Kim N. Holland ABSTRACT: Diel vertical migration is a widespread behavioral phenomenon where organisms migrate through the water column and may modify behavior relative to changing environmental conditions based on

Sharp increase in Ningaloo whale shark injuries might be due to boat encounters

Press Release Australian Institute of Marine Science 24. January 2020 — — — — — — — — — — — — Scarring and major lacerations due to vessel collisions becoming more common, study finds. Almost one-fifth of the whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef Marine Park show major scarring or fin

Multi-year patterns in scarring, survival and residency of whale sharks in Ningaloo Marine Park

Multi-year patterns in scarring, survival and residency of whale sharks in Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia Emily Lester, Mark G. Meekan, Peter Barnes, Holly Raudino, Dani Rob, Kelly Waples, Conrad W. Speed ABSTRACT: Documentation of scarring patterns on marine megafauna provides a means of quantifying the risk of anthropogenic threats that occur in the open

Field assessment of behavioural responses of southern stingrays to acoustic stimuli

Field assessment of behavioural responses of southern stingrays (Hypanus americanus) to acoustic stimuli Megan F. Mickle, Rachel H. Pieniazek, Dennis M. Higgs ABSTRACT: The ability of elasmobranchs to detect and use sound cues has been heavily debated in previous research and has only recently received revived attention. To properly understand the importance of sound to

Opportunities from citizen science for shark conservation

Opportunities from citizen science for shark conservation, with a focus on the Mediterranean Sea F. Bargnesi, S. Lucrezi, F. Ferretti ABSTRACT: The Mediterranean Sea is a hotspot for shark conservation. A decline in large pelagic shark populations has been observed in this vast region over the last 50 years and a lack of data on the

Phylogenetics and biogeography of the walking shark genus Hemiscyllium

Walking, swimming or hitching a ride? Phylogenetics and biogeography of the walking shark genus Hemiscyllium Christine L. Dudgeon, Shannon Corrigan, Lei Yang, Gerry R. Allen, Mark V. Erdmann, Fahmi, Hagi Y. Sugeha, William T. White, Gavin J. P. Naylor ABSTRACT: It can be challenging to identify the forces that drive speciation in marine environments for

Large-scale movements and site fidelity of bull sharks at Reunion Island

Large-scale movements and site fidelity of bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) at Reunion Island (Indian ocean) Marc Soria, Yann Tremblay, Antonin Blaison, Fabien Forget, Estelle Crochelet, Laurent Dagorn ABSTRACT: Two bull sharks ( Carcharhinus leucas ) were tagged in coastal waters off Reunion Island in the tropical Indian Ocean and where tracked for 174 and 139