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Partial female migration and cool-water migration pathways in an overfished shark

Authors :
Charlie Huveneers
M. N. McMillan
Jayson M. Semmens
Bronwyn M. Gillanders
Source :
ICES Journal of Marine Science. 76:1083-1093
Publication Year :
2018
Publisher :
Oxford University Press (OUP), 2018.

Abstract

Knowledge about reproductive movements can be of important conservation value for over-exploited species that are vulnerable when moving between and within key reproductive habitats. Lack of knowledge persists around such movements in the overfished school shark Galeorhinus galeus in Australia. Management assumes all pregnant females migrate between adult aggregations in the Great Australian Bight, South Australia, and nursery areas around Bass Strait and Tasmania. We tracked 14 late-term pregnant females tagged in South Australia using satellite-linked pop-up archival tags to investigate extent, timing, and routes of migrations. We found partial migration, with some females (n = 7) remaining near aggregating areas throughout the pupping season, some migrating to known nursery areas (n = 3), and one migrating ∼3 000 km to New Zealand. We conclude female movements and pupping habitats are less spatially constrained than assumed and propose females use cool-water routes along the shelf break to reduce energy costs of migration. Migrating females using these routes faced greater fishing pressure than sharks in inshore areas and were not protected by inshore shark fishing closures designed to protect them. This study demonstrates the complexity of reproductive movements that can occur in wide-ranging species and highlights the value of explicit movement data.

Details

ISSN :
10959289 and 10543139
Volume :
76
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
ICES Journal of Marine Science
Accession number :
edsair.doi...........de8f164d16045157a26964d18bb04728
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsy181