Life history of the silvertip shark Carcharhinus albimarginatus from Papua New Guinea

Smart, Jonathan J., Chin, Andrew, Baje, Leontine, Tobin, Andrew J., Simpfendorfer, Colin A., and White, William T. (2017) Life history of the silvertip shark Carcharhinus albimarginatus from Papua New Guinea. Coral Reefs, 36 (2). pp. 577-588.

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Abstract

Growth and maturity of the silvertip shark Carcharhinus albimarginatus from Papua New Guinea were estimated to form the basis of future population assessments. Samples were collected from commercial longline vessels targeting sharks in the Bismarck and Solomon Seas. A total of 48 C. albimarginatus—28 males (95–219 cm total length, TL) and 20 females (116–250 cm TL)—provided data for the analyses. Employing back-calculation techniques accounted for missing juvenile length classes and supplemented the sample size. A multi-model framework incorporating the Akaike information criterion was used to estimate growth parameters. The von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) provided the best-fit growth estimates. Parameter estimates were L0 = 72.1 cm TL, k = 0.04 yr−1 and L∞ = 311.3 cm TL for males; and L0 = 70.8 cm TL, k = 0.02 yr−1 and L∞ = 497.9 cm TL for females. The biologically implausible L∞ occurred for females as their growth did not asymptote; a typical trait of large shark species. The maximum age estimated from vertebral analysis was 18 yr for both sexes, while the calculated longevity from the VBGF parameters was 27.4 yr for males and 32.2 yr for females. Males matured at 174.7 cm TL and 10.5 yr old, while females matured at 208.9 cm TL and 14.8 yr old.

Item ID: 49701
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1432-0975
Keywords: reef shark, growth, maturity ogives, akaike information criterion (AIC), fisheries, elasmobranch
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This publication was included as Chapter 6 of the following PhD thesis: Smart, Jonathan James (2016) Life history and demographic modelling of shark species caught in Indo-Pacific fisheries. PhD thesis, James Cook University, which is available Open Access in ResearchOnline@JCU. Please see the Related URLs for access.

Funders: National Fisheries Authority (NFA), Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Australian Postgraduate Award (APA), Oceania Chondrichthyan Society (OCS), CSIRO, Oceans and Atmosphere Scholarship
Projects and Grants: ACIAR FIS/2012/102
Date Deposited: 26 Jul 2017 23:31
FoR Codes: 30 AGRICULTURAL, VETERINARY AND FOOD SCIENCES > 3005 Fisheries sciences > 300502 Aquaculture and fisheries stock assessment @ 100%
SEO Codes: 83 ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 8302 Fisheries - Wild Caught > 830204 Wild Caught Fin Fish (excl. Tuna) @ 100%
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