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- 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.
- Age and growth of the smooth hammerhead, Sphyrna zygaena, in the Atlantic Ocean: comparison with other hammerhead speciesPublication . Rosa, Daniela; Coelho, Rui; Fernandez-Carvalho, Joana; Santos, Miguel N.The smooth hammerhead Sphyrna zygaena (Sphyrnidae) is a pelagic shark occasionally caught as bycatch in pelagic longline fisheries, but is one of the least studied of all pelagic sharks. Age and growth of S. zygaena was studied along a wide Atlantic region covering both the northern and southern hemispheres. Data from 304 specimens, caught between October 2009 and September 2014, ranging in size from 126 to 253 cm fork length (FL), were analysed. Growth models were fitted using the three-parameter von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) re-parameterized to calculate L0 (size at birth). Growth models were fitted to the sample data and data from several back-calculation models. The model fit to the quadratic modified Dahl-Lea back-calculated data seems to be the most appropriate to describe growth in this species, with resulting growth parameters of Linf = 285 cm FL, k = 0.09 year−1 for males and Linf = 293 cm FL, k = 0.09 year−1 for females. Compared with other species of the same genus, estimated growth coefficients for S. zygaena seem to fall in the low to middle range. Although further work is still needed, this study adds to knowledge of the vital life-history parameters of smooth hammerheads in the Atlantic Ocean, which can be used in the management and conservation of this species.