Largest global shark biomass found in the northern Galápagos Islands of Darwin and Wolf
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Aquaculture, Fisheries and Fish Science, Ecology, Environmental Sciences, Marine Biology
- Keywords
- Galapagos, Marine Protected Areas, Marine Reserves, Sharks, Pelagics, Conservation, Biomass, Fish, Eastern Tropical Pacific, Darwin
- Copyright
- © 2016 Salinas de León et al.
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2016. Largest global shark biomass found in the northern Galápagos Islands of Darwin and Wolf. PeerJ Preprints 4:e1872v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.1872v1
Abstract
Overfishing has dramatically depleted sharks and other large predatory fishes worldwide except for a few remote and/or well-protected areas. The islands of Darwin and Wolf in the far north of the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR) are known for their large shark abundance, making them a global scuba diving and conservation hotspot. Here we report quantitative estimates of fish abundance at Darwin and Wolf over two consecutive years using stereo-video surveys, which reveal the largest reef fish biomass ever reported (17.5 t ha-1 on average), consisting largely of sharks. Despite this, the abundance of reef fishes around the GMR, such as groupers, has been severely reduced because of unsustainable fishing practices. Although Darwin and Wolf are within the GMR, they were not fully protected from fishing until March 2016. Given the ecological value and the economic importance of Darwin and Wolf for the dive tourism industry, the current protection should ensure the long-term conservation of this hotspot of unique global value.
Author Comment
This version has been accepted for publication at PeerJ after peer review.