Conventional tagging of sharks in Western Australia: the main commercial species exhibit contrasting movement patterns
Saia Bartes
A , Colin Simpfendorfer B , Terence I. Walker C D , Carissa King E , Neil Loneragan E and Matías Braccini F G
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Escuela Superior de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, San Martín 224, San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro 8520, Argentina.
B Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Building 32, 1 James Cook Drive, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.
C School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Biosciences 4, Royal Parade, Parkville, Vic. 3052, Australia.
D School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.
E Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia.
F Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, PO Box 20, North Beach, WA 6920, Australia.
G Corresponding author. Email: matias.braccini@dpird.wa.gov.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 72(11) 1643-1656 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF20367
Submitted: 17 December 2020 Accepted: 18 June 2021 Published: 21 July 2021
Abstract
Understanding movement patterns underlies effective management and conservation measures. The current study summarises the main findings from a tagging program of Western Australian sharks to provide insights into the movement patterns of the main commercial shark species: dusky (Carcharhinus obscurus), sandbar (C. plumbeus), gummy (Mustelus antarcticus) and whiskery (Furgaleus macki) sharks. Between 1993 and 2020, >12 000 individuals from 52 taxonomic groups were implanted with conventional tags in Western Australia, of which 8.5% were recaptured. Most of the tagged (74.5%) and recaptured (95.8%) individuals belong to the four main commercial shark species. Recaptured individuals of these species, as well as tiger (Galeocerdo cuvier) and bronze whaler (C. brachyurus) sharks showed displacements of >1000 km and rates of movement (ROMs) of >10 km day–1, with the exception of whiskery sharks, which showed much slower ROMs (<3 km day–1). Despite tagged dusky and sandbar sharks being predominately small individuals and gummy and whiskery sharks being large individuals, dusky and sandbar sharks had faster ROMs and a greater proportion of recaptures outside the release zone. Our study provided the information required for estimating movement rates across different fishing zones and therefore defining the spatial scale for managing these shark species.
Keywords: movement, conservation, fisheries management, migration.
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