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Pan-Atlantic distribution patterns and reproductive biology of the bigeye thresher, Alopias superciliosus

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Abstract

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Portuguese Institute for the Ocean and Atmosphere (IPMA, I.P.), Avenida 5 de Outubro s/n, 8700-305, Olhão, Portugal

    Joana Fernandez-Carvalho, Rui Coelho & Miguel N. Santos

  2. Centre of Marine Sciences of Algarve (CCMAR), University of Algarve, FCT Ed. 7, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal

    Joana Fernandez-Carvalho & Rui Coelho

  3. Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), P.O. Box 130, 15080, A Coruña, Spain

    Jaime Mejuto, Blanca García-Cortés & Ana Ramos-Cartelle

  4. Panama City Laboratory, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-NMFS), Panama City, FL, 32408, USA

    Enric Cortés

  5. Laboratorio de Recursos Pelágicos, Dirección Nacional de Recursos Acuáticos (DINARA), CP 11200, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Andrés Domingo & Rodrigo Forselledo

  6. National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries (NRIFSF), 5-7-1 Orido, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka-City, Shizuoka, 424-8633, Japan

    Kotaro Yokawa & Seiji Ohshimo

  7. Institute of Marine Affairs and Resource Management, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, 202, Taiwan

    Kwang-Ming Liu

  8. Department of Fisheries Production and Management, National Kaohsiung Marine University, Kaohsiung, 811, Taiwan

    Wen-Pei Tsai

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  1. Joana Fernandez-Carvalho
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  2. Rui Coelho
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  3. Jaime Mejuto
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  4. Enric Cortés
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  8. Blanca García-Cortés
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  9. Rodrigo Forselledo
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  10. Seiji Ohshimo
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  12. Wen-Pei Tsai
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  13. Miguel N. Santos
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Correspondence to Rui Coelho.

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Fernandez-Carvalho, J., Coelho, R., Mejuto, J. et al. Pan-Atlantic distribution patterns and reproductive biology of the bigeye thresher, Alopias superciliosus . Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 25, 551–568 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-015-9389-7

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