Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T03:40:02.128Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Age and growth of the smooth hammerhead shark, Sphyrnazygaena, in the Eastern Equatorial Atlantic Ocean, using vertebralsections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2011

Rui Coelho ,
Joana Fernandez-Carvalho ,
Sérgio Amorim  and
Miguel N. Santos
Rui Coelho*
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional dos Recursos Biológicos IP/ IPIMAR, 8700-305 Olhão, Portugal Centro de Ciências do Mar, Universidade do Algarve, Portugal
Joana Fernandez-Carvalho
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional dos Recursos Biológicos IP/ IPIMAR, 8700-305 Olhão, Portugal
Sérgio Amorim
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional dos Recursos Biológicos IP/ IPIMAR, 8700-305 Olhão, Portugal
Miguel N. Santos
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional dos Recursos Biológicos IP/ IPIMAR, 8700-305 Olhão, Portugal
*
aCorresponding author:[email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The smooth hammerhead shark Sphyrna zygaena (Sphyrnidae) is regularlycaught as bycatch in pelagic longline fisheries, but is one of the least studied of allpelagic sharks. Recently, ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of AtlanticTunas) issued recommendations underlining the need for more studies on the life historyparameters of this and other pelagic shark species. To this end, the age and growth ofS. zygaena were studied in the Eastern Equatorial Atlantic Ocean, in anarea where growth parameters were not yet available for this species. Data from 139specimens, caught between June and September 2009, ranging in size from 136 to 233 cm forklength (FL), were analysed. Preliminary trials were carried out to assess the mostefficient growth band enhancement technique. These indicated that sectioning the vertebraeinto 500 μm sections followed by staining with crystal violet producedthe best results. Growth models were fitted using the traditional von Bertalanffy growthequation and a modification of this equation using a known size at birth. Growth modelswere compared using the Akaike information criterion (AIC). The von Bertalanffy growthequation seemed to be the most adequate model to describe growth in this species, withresulting growth parameters of Linf = 272 cmFL, k = 0.06 year for males andLinf = 285 cm FL,k = 0.07 year for females. In the first four years of life, S.zygaena grows 25 cm per year on average, but its growth slows down in laterlife. Future stock assessment models should incorporate these age and growth parametersfor species management and conservation.

Keywords

Age and growthpelagic longline fisherieslife historyCarcharhiniformesvertebral band countsAtlantic Ocean
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , October 2011 , pp. 351 - 357
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramoff, M.D.,, Magalhaes, P.J.,, Ram, S.J.,, 2004, Image Processing with ImageJ. Biophotonics International, 11, 36–42. Google Scholar
Anislado-Tolentino, V., Cabello, M.G., Linares, F.A., Mendoza, C.R., 2008, Age and growth of the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini (Griffith and Smith, 1834) from the Southern coast of Sinaloa, Mexico. Hidrobiologica 18, 31–40. Google Scholar
Anislado-Tolentino, V., Robinson-Mendoza, C., 2001, Age and growth for the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini (Griffith and Smith, 1834) along the Central Pacific Coast of Mexico. Cienc. Mar. 27, 501–520. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barker, M.J., Schluessel, V., 2005, Managing global shark fisheries: suggestions for prioritizing management strategies. Aquat. Conserv. Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 15, 325–347. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beamish, R.J., Fournier, D.A., 1981, A method for comparing the precision of a set of age determinations. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 38, 982–983. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Branstetter, S., 1987, Age, growth and reproductive biology of the silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis, and the scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, from the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Environ. Biol. Fishes 19, 161–173. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buencuerpo, V., Rios, S., Moron, J., 1998, Pelagic sharks associated with the swordfish, Xiphias gladius, fishery in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and the Strait of Gibraltar. Fish. Bull. 96, 667–685. Google Scholar
Cailliet G.M., Martin L.K., Kusher D., Wolf P., Welden B.A., 1983, Techniques for enhancing vertebral bands in age estimation of California elasmobranchs. In: Prince E.D., Pulos L.M. (Eds.) Proc. International workshop on age determination of oceanic pelagic fishes: tunas, billfishes, sharks. NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS 8, pp. 157–165.
Cailliet G.M., Goldman K.J., 2004, Age determination and validation in chondrichthyan fishes. In: Carrier J., Musick A., Heithaus M. (Eds.) The biology of sharks and their relatives, Boca Raton, CRC Press, pp. 399–447.
Campana, S.E., 2001, Accuracy, precision and quality control in age determination, including a review of the use and abuse of age validation methods. J. Fish Biol. 59, 197–242. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cerrato, R. M., 1990, Interpretable statistical tests for growth comparisons using parameters in the von Bertalanffy equation. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 47, 1416–1426. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, W.Y.B., 1982, A statistical method for evaluating the reproducibility of age determinations. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 39, 1208–1210. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, C.T., Leu, T.C., Joung, S.J., Lo, N.C.H., 1990, Age and growth of the scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, in Northeastern Taiwan waters. Pac. Sci. 44, 156–170. Google Scholar
Clarke, S.C., McAllister, M.K., Milner-Gulland, E.J., Kirkwood, G.P., Michielsens, C.G.J., Agnew, D.J., Pikitch, E.K., Nakano, H., Shivji, M.S., 2006, Global estimates of shark catches using trade records from commercial markets. Ecol. Lett. 9, 1115–1126. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Compagno L.J.V., 1984, Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2. Carcharhiniformes. Rome, FAO.
Cortés, E., 2000, Life history patterns and correlations in sharks. Rev. Fish. Sci. 8, 299–344. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cortés, E., Arocha, F., Beerkircher, L., Carvalho, F., Domingo, A., Heupel, M., Holtzhausen, H., Santos, M.N., Ribera, M., Simpfendorfer, C., 2010, Ecological risk assessment of pelagic sharks caught in Atlantic pelagic longline fisheries. Aquat. Living Resour. 23, 25–34. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldman K.J., 2004, Age and growth of elasmobranch fishes. In: Musick J.A., Bonfil R. (Eds.) Elasmobranch fisheries management techniques, Singapore, APEC, pp. 97–132.
Harry, A.V., Macbeth, W.G., Gutteridge, A.N., Simpfendorfer, C.A., 2011, The life histories of endangered hammerhead sharks (Carcharhiniformes, Sphyrnidae) from the east coast of Australia. J. Fish Biol. 78, 2026–2051. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ICCAT, 2003, Resolution by ICCAT on the shark fishery. ICCAT Resolution 2003-10. URL: http://www.iccat.es/Documents/Recs/compendiopdf-e/2003-10-e.pdf
ICCAT, 2004, Recommendation by ICCAT concerning the conservation of sharks caught in association with fisheries managed by ICCAT. ICCAT Recommendation 2004-10. URL: http://www.iccat.es/Documents/Recs/compendiopdf-e/2004-10-e.pdf
ICCAT, 2007, Supplemental recommendation by ICCAT concerning sharks. ICCAT Recommendation 2007-06. URL: http://www.iccat.es/Documents/Recs/compendiopdf-e/2007-06-e.pdf
Johnson, A.G., 1979, A simple method for staining the centra of teleost vertebrae. NE Gulf Sci. 3, 113–115. Google Scholar
Katsanevakis, S., 2006, Modelling fish growth: Model selection, multi-model inference and model selection uncertainty. Fish. Res. 81, 229–235. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kimura, D.K., 1980, Likelihood methods for the von Bertalanffy growth curve. Fish. Bull. 77, 765–773. Google Scholar
LaMarca, M.S., 1966, A simple technique for demonstrating calcified annuli in the vertebrae of large elasmobranchs. Copeia 1966, 351–352. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, G.R., 1993, Age determination and growth of the bonnethead shark Sphyrna tiburo: a comparison of two populations. Mar. Biol. 117, 23–31. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Passerotti, M.S., Carlson, J.K., Piercy, A.N., Campana, S.E., 2010, Age validation of great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran), determined by bomb radiocarbon analysis. Fish. Bull. 108, 346–351. Google Scholar
Piercy, A.N., Carlson, J.K., Sulikowski, J.A., Burgess, G. H., 2007, Age and growth of the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini, in the north-west Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Mar. Freshw. Res. 58, 34-40. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piercy, A.N., Carlson, J.K., Passerotti, M.S., 2010, Age and growth of the great hammerhead shark, Sphyrna mokarran, in the north-western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Mar. Freshw. Res. 61, 992–998. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
R Development Core Team, 2010, R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, R Foundation for Statistical Computing. http://www.R-project.org.
Smith, S.E., Au, D.W., Show, C., 1998, Intrinsic rebound potentials of 26 species of Pacific sharks. Mar. Freshw. Res. 49, 663–678. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevens, J.D., Bonfil, R., Dulvy, N.K., Walker, P.A., 2000, The effects of fishing on sharks, rays, and chimaeras (chondrichthyans), and the implications for marine ecosystems. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 57, 476–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar