Abstract
Between October 2018 and October 2019, seven megamouth sharks were reported as bycatch in the small-scale surface and midwater gillnet fisheries operating from the ports of Mancora and Salaverry in northern Peru. Here we present details of these specimens and bycatch events that represent the first documented records of this species in Peruvian waters, confirming their occurrence as fisheries bycatch. We recommend continued monitoring programs in small-scale fisheries toward assessing the extent of this species’ occurrence in Peru and its vulnerability to fishery interactions.
Highlights
The megamouth shark, Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker 1983, a large filter-feeder, was first described in 1983 based on one individual caught off Hawaii in 1976 (Taylor et al 1983)
As part of this monitoring project, between October 2018 and October 2019, seven megamouth sharks were reported entangled in drifting surface and set mid-water gillnets by small-scale vessels operating in northern Peru
The estimated total length (TL) of the individuals reported in Mancora (MP-1, MP-2, MP-6 and MP-7) is > 500 cm, 470 cm, > 400 cm and > 400 cm, respectively
Summary
The megamouth shark, Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker 1983, a large filter-feeder, was first described in 1983 based on one individual caught off Hawaii in 1976 (Taylor et al 1983) It has a nearly global distribution in temperate and tropical waters (Compagno 2001), mainly reported from bycatch events from the Western Pacific Ocean: Taiwan, Philippines and Japan (Watanabe and Papastamatiou 2019) and occasionally from the Indian (White et al 2004; Fernando et al 2015) or Atlantic Ocean (Amorim et al 2000; Rodriguez-Ferrer et al 2017). This information highlights the vulnerability of the species to fishery interactions and contributes to our understanding of its global distribution
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