Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T06:14:21.906Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sightings of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) off Angola and Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2010

Caroline R. Weir
Caroline R. Weir*
Affiliation:
Ketos Ecology, 4 Compton Road, West Charleton, Kingsbridge, Devon TQ7 2BP, UK Department of Zoology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, UK
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C.R. Weir, Ketos Ecology, 4 Compton Road, West Charleton, Kingsbridge, Devon TQ7 2BP, UK email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Knowledge of the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, in the south-east Atlantic off the coast of West Africa is limited to several bycatch and stranding records. Ten at-sea sightings of whale sharks from Angola (N = 9) and Nigeria (N = 1) are presented, consisting of nine sightings from offshore platforms and a single record from a helicopter. Eight of the records were from oceanic waters exceeding 1000 m, while single records originated from shelf-edge and continental shelf waters. The records support a year-round occurrence of whale sharks in offshore West African waters, although the majority (N = 8) of sightings occurred during the spring and summer months between September and January. Most sightings (N = 8) were of whale sharks estimated to be in the 5–7 m length-range. These records represent the first verified at-sea sightings in the West Africa region providing novel information on behaviour and distribution, and also confirm Nigeria as a range state for the whale shark.

Keywords

whale sharkRhincodon typussightingsAngolaNigeriaAtlantic Ocean
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 3 , June 2010 , e50
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alava, M.N.R., Yaptinchay, A.A., Acogido, G., Dolar, M.L.L., Wood, C.J. and Leatherwood, S. (1997) Fishery and trade of whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Philippines. Paper presented during the 13th American Elasmobranch Society (AES) Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, USA, 26 June–2 July 1997.Google Scholar
Anonymous (2000) Report of the workshop on the conservation and management of small cetaceans of the coast of Africa. Tenth meeting of the CMS Scientific Council, May 2001. 27 pp. [Translation by Perrin, W.F..]Google Scholar
Bard, F.X. and Herve, A. (1990) Note sur le signalment de dauphins en association avec les thons tropicaux en Atlantique est. ICCAT Working Document, SCRS/90/70.8.Google Scholar
van Bennekom, A.J. and Berger, G.W. (1984) Hydrography and silica budget of the Angola Basin. Netherlands Journal of Sea Research 17, 149–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cayre, P., Amon Kothias, J.B., Diouf, T. and Stretta, J.M. (1988) Biologie des thons. In Fonteneau, A. and Marcille, J. (eds) Resources pêches et biologie des thonidés tropicaux de l'Atlantique Centre-Est. FAO Doc. Tech. Pêche 292, 157–268.Google Scholar
Colman, J.G. (1997) A review of the biology and ecology of the whale shark. Journal of Fish Biology 51, 1219–1234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Compagno, L.J.V. (2001) Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Volume 2. Bullhead, mackerel and carpet sharks (Heterodontiformes, Lamniformes and Orectolobiformes). FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes, Rome, No. 1, Volume 2, 269 pp.Google Scholar
Eckert, S.A. and Stewart, B.S. (2001) Telemetry and satellite tracking of whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, and the North Pacific Ocean. Environmental Biology of Fishes 60, 299–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanfee, F. (2001) Trade in whale shark and its products in the coastal state of Gujarat, India. New Delhi: TRAFFIC India and WWF-India, 38 pp.Google Scholar
Hardman-Mountford, N.J., Richardson, A.J., Agenbag, J.J., Hagen, E., Nykjaer, L., Shillington, F.A. and Villacastin, C. (2003) Ocean climate of the South East Atlantic observed from satellite data and wind models. Progress in Oceanography 59, 181–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IHO (1953) Limits of oceans and seas. Monte-Carlo: International Hydrographic Organisation Special Publication 23, Third edition. Imprimérie Monégasque.Google Scholar
IUCN (2007) 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Accessed 26 December 2008..+Accessed+26+December+2008.>Google Scholar
Keenan, S.F., Benfield, M.C. and Blackburn, J.K. (2007) Importance of the artificial light field around offshore petroleum platforms for the associated fish community. Marine Ecology Progress Series 331, 219–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kukuyev, E.I. (1996) The new finds in recently born individuals of the whale shark Rhincodon typus (Rhiniodontidae) in the Atlantic Ocean. Journal of Ichthyology 36, 203–205.Google Scholar
Levenez, J., Fonteneau, A. and Regalado, R. (1980) Resultats d'une enquête sur l'importance des dauphins dans la pêcherie thonière FISM. Collective Volume of Scientific Papers ICCAT 9, 176–179.Google Scholar
Moroshkin, K.V., Bubnov, V.A. and Bulatov, R.P. (1970) Water circulation in the eastern South Atlantic. Oceanology 10, 27–34.Google Scholar
Nelson, J.D. and Eckert, S.A. (2007) Foraging ecology of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) within Bahía de Los Angeles, Baja California Norte, México. Fisheries Research 84, 47–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norman, B.M. (1999) Aspects of the biology and ecotourism industry of the whale shark Rhincodon typus in north-western Australia. MPhil thesis. Murdoch University, Western Australia.Google Scholar
Sleeman, J.C., Meekan, M.G., Wilson, S.G., Jenner, C.K., Jenner, M.N., Boggs, G.S., Steinberg, C.C. and Bradshaw, C.J. (2007) Biophysical correlates of relative abundances of marine megafauna at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 58, 608–623.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevens, J.D. (2007) Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) biology and ecology: a review of the primary literature. Fisheries Research 84, 4–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, S.G., Taylor, J.G. and Pearce, A.F. (2001) The seasonal aggregation of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia: currents, migrations and El Niño/Southern Oscillation. Environmental Biology of Fishes 61, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfson, F.H. (1983) Records of seven juveniles of the whale shark Rhincodon typus. Journal of Fish Biology 22, 647–655.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfson, A., Van Blaricom, G., Davis, N. and Lewbel, G.S. (1979) The marine life of an offshore oil platform. Marine Ecology Progress Series 1, 81–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhardim, M.F., Nesterov, A.A. and Pereira, L.A. (1998) A whale shark Rhincodon typus at the beach of Musul Island (Angola). Journal of Ichthyology 38, 272–274.Google Scholar