Range extension of the endangered great hammerhead shark Sphyrna mokarran in the Northwest Atlantic: Preliminary data and significance for conservation

Abstract

We provide pilot data from a satellite-tracked great hammerhead shark Sphyrna mokarran in the Atlantic, representing the first such data on this species in the literature. The 250 cm shark was tagged off the coast of the middle-Florida Keys (USA) and transmitted for 62 d. During this time it migrated a minimum distance of ~1200 km northeast from the coast of Florida, into pelagic international waters of the Northwest Atlantic. When compared to the primary literature, this migration represented a northeasterly range extension for this species off the continental slope in the Atlantic. The significance of this range extension is discussed in terms of the vulnerability of S. mokarran to target and non-target fisheries. © Inter-Research 2011.