Characteristics of the shark fisheries of Fiji

Abstract

Limited information is available on artisanal and subsistence shark fisheries across the Pacific. The aim of this study was to investigate Fiji’s inshore fisheries which catch sharks. In January and February 2013, 253 semi-directive interviews were conducted in 117 villages and at local harbours on Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Ovalau and a number of islands of the Mamanuca and Yasawa archipelagos. Of the 253 interviewees, 81.4% reported to presently catch sharks, and 17.4% declared that they did not presently catch any sharks. Of the 206 fishers that reported to catch sharks, 18.4% targeted sharks and 81.6% caught sharks as bycatch. When targeted, primary use of sharks was for consumption or for sale. Sharks caught as bycatch were frequently released (69.6%), consumed (64.9%) or shared amongst the community (26.8%). Fishers’ identification based on an identification poster and DNA barcoding revealed that at least 12 species of elasmobranchs, 11 shark and one ray species (Rhynchobatus australiae) were caught. This study, which is the first focused exploration of the shark catch in Fiji’s inshore fisheries, suggests that the country’s artisanal shark fisheries are small but have the potential to develop into larger and possibly more targeted fisheries.

Discovery of a multispecies shark aggregation and parturition area in the Ba Estuary, Fiji Islands

“…Interview information on shark occurrence was collected following the methods of Rasalato et al () and Glaus et al. (). Fishermen were either previously identified and approached after acquiring the consent of the headman of the respective village, or directly designated by the headman himself.…”

“…A total of nine interviews were conducted with fishermen who use inshore and offshore areas around the Ba River mouth, and who inhabit the coast of the estuary. Interview information on shark occurrence was collected following the methods of Rasalato et al (2010) and Glaus et al (2015). Fishermen were either previously identified and approached after acquiring the consent of the headman of the respective village, or directly designated by the head-…”

“…At least 17 shark species are known to occur in Fijian waters (Seeto & Baldwin, 2010), but generally little is known about exactly where different species concentrate, and how and when they make use of the available habitats. Using data collected from dive operators, citizen scientists and local fishermen, an increasingly clear picture of shark species abundance throughout Fiji is emerging (Brunnschweiler, Abrantes, & Barnett, 2014; Glaus, Adrian-Kalchhauser, Burkhardt-Holm, White, & Brunnschweiler, 2015;Rasalato, Maginnity, & Brunnschweiler, 2010;Ward-Paige, 2014). Specific locations with confirmed species occurrence in the scientific literature are only available for Viti Levu (Brown, Seeto, Lal, & Miller, 2016;Brunnschweiler & Earle, 2006;Cardeñosa, Glaus, & Brunnschweiler, 2017;Marie, Miller, Cawich, Piovano, & Rico, 2017) and Vanua Levu (Goetze & Fullwood, 2013), the two largest islands of Fiji.…”

“…The main threat to sharks in Fijian waters is their frequent occurrence in the bycatch of artisanal and subsistence fisheries in the inshore fishing grounds (Glaus et al, 2015). This includes not only coastal waters but also rivers and river deltas, as shown by Rasalato et al (2010) who collected interview-based evidence of shark occurrences in all of Fiji's rivers.…”

Essential waters: Young bull sharks in Fiji's largest riverine system

“…Given our large sampling effort over multiple areas, it is reasonable to assume that the capture of YOY and juvenile sharks would have been expected. Multiple reasons and combinations thereof can result in the observed lack of shark captures during the austral winter months, and potential hypotheses for the lack of YOY and juvenile bull sharks in the Rewa River range from impacts of mortality (natural and/or by fishing pressure; Glaus et al, 2015), detrimental effects on shark habitats, altering habitat use patterns, selective gear bias (Drymon, Ajemian, & Powers, 2014;Heithaus et al, 2009), and learning behavior toward fishing gear avoidance (Guttridge, Myrberg, Porcher, Sims, & Krause, 2009 been reported to leave their nursery area during the approach of a tropical storm (Heupel, Simpfendorfer, & Hueter, 2003). It is therefore plausible that the young bull sharks within the Rewa, Navua, and Sigatoka Rivers may have responded to this severe climatic event in some manner.…”