Browsing by Author "Ohshimo, Seiji"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Distribution patterns and population structure of the blue shark (Prionace glauca) in the Atlantic and Indian OceansPublication . Coelho, Rui; Mejuto, Jaime; Domingo, Andrés; Yokawa, Kotaro; Liu, Kwang-Ming; Cortés, Enric; Romanov, Evgeny V.; da Silva, Charlene; Hazin, Fábio; Arocha, Freddy; Mwilima, Aldrin Masawbi; Bach, Pascal; Ortiz de Zárate, Victoria; Roche, William; Lino, Pedro G.; García-Cortés, Blanca; Ramos-Cartelle, Ana M.; Forselledo, Rodrigo; Mas, Federico; Ohshimo, Seiji; Courtney, Dean; Sabarros, Philippe S.; Perez, Bernardo; Wogerbauer, Ciara; Tsai, Wen-Pei; Carvalho, Felipe; Santos, Miguel N.The blue shark (Prionace glauca) is the most frequently captured shark in pelagic oceanic fisheries, especially pelagic longlines targeting swordfish and/or tunas. As part of cooperative scientific efforts for fisheries and biological data collection, information from fishery observers, scientific projects and surveys, and from recreational fisheries from several nations in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans was compiled. Data sets included information on location, size and sex, in a total of 478,220 blue shark records collected between 1966 and 2014. Sizes ranged from 36 to 394 cm fork length. Considerable variability was observed in the size distribution by region and season in both oceans. Larger blue sharks tend to occur in equatorial and tropical regions, and smaller specimens in higher latitudes in temperate waters. Differences in sex ratios were also detected spatially and seasonally. Nursery areas in the Atlantic seem to occur in the temperate south‐east off South Africa and Namibia, in the south‐west off southern Brazil and Uruguay, and in the north‐east off the Iberian Peninsula and the Azores. Parturition may occur in the tropical north‐east off West Africa. In the Indian Ocean, nursery areas also seem to occur in temperate waters, especially in the south‐west Indian Ocean off South Africa, and in the south‐east off south‐western Australia. The distributional patterns presented in this study provide a better understanding of how blue sharks segregate by size and sex, spatially and temporally, and improve the scientific advice to help adopt more informed and efficient management and conservation measures for this cosmopolitan species.
- Pan-Atlantic distribution patterns and reproductive biology of the bigeye thresher, Alopias superciliosusPublication . Fernandez-Carvalho, Joana; Coelho, Rui; Mejuto, Jaime; Cortés, Enric; Domingo, Andrés; Yokawa, Kotaro; Liu, Kwang-Ming; García-Cortés, Blanca; Forselledo, Rodrigo; Ohshimo, Seiji; Ramos-Cartelle, Ana; Tsai, Wen-Pei; Santos, Miguel N.The bigeye thresher (Alopias supercilious) is occasionally caught as bycatch in pelagic longline fisheries targeting tunas and swordfish. Still, it is one of the least known and studied of all pelagic sharks, which hinders assessment of the status of its populations. As part of an ongoing cooperative program for fisheries and biological data collection, information collected by fishery observers and through scientific projects from several nations that undertake fishing activities in the Atlantic (Japan, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan, Uruguay and US) was compiled and analyzed. Datasets include information on location, size, sex and, in some cases, maturity stage. A total of 5590 bigeye thresher records collected between 1992 and 2013 were compiled, with sizes ranging from 70 to 305 cm fork length (FL). Considerable variability was observed in size, with tropical regions recording a smaller mean size compared to other regions. The distribution of juvenile and adult specimens also showed considerable variability, and the sex ratios varied between regions and size classes. Median sizes at maturity were estimated at 208.6 cm FL for females and 159.2 cm FL for males. Pregnant females were recorded in the tropical northeast and southwest Atlantic, with these regions possibly serving as nursery areas. The biological and distributional patterns presented in this study provide a better understanding of different aspects of this species in the Atlantic, which can help managers adopt more informed and efficient conservation measures.