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SCUBA diver observations and placard tags to monitor grey reef sharks, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, at Sha'ab Rumi, The Sudan: assessment and future directions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 August 2011

Nigel E. Hussey ,
Noémie Stroh ,
Rebecca Klaus ,
Tarik Chekchak  and
Steven T. Kessel
Nigel E. Hussey*
Affiliation:
The Cousteau Society/Equipe Cousteau, 92 Avenue Kléber, 75016 Paris, France Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Science, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada
Noémie Stroh
Affiliation:
The Cousteau Society/Equipe Cousteau, 92 Avenue Kléber, 75016 Paris, France
Rebecca Klaus
Affiliation:
The Cousteau Society/Equipe Cousteau, 92 Avenue Kléber, 75016 Paris, France
Tarik Chekchak
Affiliation:
The Cousteau Society/Equipe Cousteau, 92 Avenue Kléber, 75016 Paris, France
Steven T. Kessel
Affiliation:
The Cousteau Society/Equipe Cousteau, 92 Avenue Kléber, 75016 Paris, France Cardiff University, School of Biosciences, Biomedical Sciences Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3XQ, Wales
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: N.E. Hussey, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Science, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada email: nehussey@uwindsor.ca
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Abstract

Establishing baseline data on the abundance of threatened shark species is critical for monitoring site- and region-specific population tends over time. This is of particular importance for monitoring sharks at remote locations or in regions where there are no reliable data on shark numbers, fishing effort and current population status. Through establishing a standardized recreational SCUBA diver observation programme, this study examined the number, size and sex-composition of grey reef sharks, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, on a remote coral reef system off the Red Sea coast of Sudan. In addition, placard tags were attached to individual sharks to examine coarse scale residency and movement patterns and to determine the effectiveness of this technique. Over a 4.5 month period (December 2007–April 2008), a mean (±SE) of 5.9 ± 0.3 grey reef sharks were observed per diving day with peak numbers of sharks associated with temperatures of 26–26.9°C and strong currents. Estimated mean (±SE) total length of observed sharks was 1.9 ± 0.03 m identifying that most animals were mature. Female sharks were dominant on the site and pregnant females were recorded. Placard tagged sharks (N = 4) were observed by recreational SCUBA divers throughout the study period (23.1%, 20.0%, 16.9% and 3.1% of total observation diving days) indicating sporadic site attachment. The placard tags remained intact and were free of fouling for a total of 175 days. The numbers of grey reef sharks seen on this Red Sea coral complex suggest a healthy, relatively unexploited population. This study demonstrates that the recreational diver community, which forms a large pool of skilled volunteers, can generate baseline data on shark numbers at regularly dived sites and provide insights into the ecology of the observed species. Modification of placard tags, including attachment to the dorsal fin and time corrodible release systems may provide an inexpensive and accepted tool for monitoring individual shark residency and movement patterns. Engaging the recreational SCUBA diver community in a standardized scientific monitoring programme has the potential to monitor trends in shark populations over large spatial and temporal scales.

Keywords

Carcharhinus amblyrhynchosgrey reef sharkrecreational SCUBA diver monitoringplacard tagbaseline abundance dataSudanRed Sea
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 93 , Special Issue 2: Fish and Fisheries , March 2013 , pp. 299 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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