Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c4f8m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T06:03:10.983Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Seasonal cycles and long-term trends in abundance and species composition of sharks associated with cage diving ecotourism activities in Hawaii

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

CARL G. MEYER ,
JONATHAN J. DALE ,
YANNIS P. PAPASTAMATIOU ,
NICHOLAS M. WHITNEY  and
KIM N. HOLLAND
CARL G. MEYER*
Affiliation:
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, PO Box 1346, Coconut Island, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA
JONATHAN J. DALE
Affiliation:
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, PO Box 1346, Coconut Island, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA Department of Zoology, Edmonson Hall, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 98822, USA
YANNIS P. PAPASTAMATIOU
Affiliation:
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, PO Box 1346, Coconut Island, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA
NICHOLAS M. WHITNEY
Affiliation:
Center for Shark Research, Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, Florida 34236, USA
KIM N. HOLLAND
Affiliation:
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, PO Box 1346, Coconut Island, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA
*
*Correspondence: Dr Carl Meyer e-mail: carlm@hawaii.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Shark cage diving is both popular and controversial, with proponents citing educational value and non-extractive use of natural resources and opponents raising concerns about public safety and ecological impacts. Logbook data collected 2004–2008 from two Oahu (Hawaii) shark cage diving operations were analysed to determine whether such voluntary records provide useful insights into shark ecology or ecotourism impacts. Operators correctly identified common shark species and documented gross seasonal cycles and long-term trends in abundance of Galapagos (Carcharhinus galapagensis), sandbar (Carcharhinus plumbeus) and tiger sharks (Galeorcerdo cuvier). Annual cycles in shark abundance may indicate seasonal migrations, whereas long-term trends suggest gradual exclusion of smaller sandbar sharks from cage diving sites. Numerically dominant (> 98%) Galapagos and sandbar sharks are rarely implicated in attacks on humans. Negligible impact on public safety is supported by other factors such as: (1) remoteness of the sites, (2) conditioning stimuli that are specific to the tour operations and different from inshore recreational stimuli and (3) no increase in shark attacks on the north coast of Oahu since cage diving started. Tracking studies are required to validate logbook data and to determine whether sharks associated with offshore cage diving travel into inshore areas used for in-water recreation.

Keywords

cage divingGalapagos sharkHawaiisandbar sharkshark ecotourism
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 36 , Issue 2 , June 2009 , pp. 104 - 111
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2009

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

Akama, J.S. & Kieti, D.M. (2003) Measuring tourist satisfaction with Kenya's wildlife safari: a case study of Tsavo West National Park. Tourism Management 24: 73–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bascompte, J., Melia, C.J. & Sala, E. (2005) Interaction strength combinations and the overfishing of a marine food web. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102: 5443–5447.Google Scholar
Bruce, B.D. (1995) The protection of the white shark. A research perspective. Southern Fisheries 3: 11–15.Google Scholar
Burgess, G.H. (1998) Diving with elasmobranchs: a call for restraint. IUCN Shark Specialist Group. Shark News 11: 1–4.Google Scholar
Carwardine, M. & Watterson, K. (2002) The Shark-Watcher's Handbook: A Guide to Sharks and Where to See Them. Princeton, NJ, USA: Princeton University Press: 232 pp.Google Scholar
Castro, J.I. (1983) The Sharks of North American Waters. College Station, TX, USA: Texas A & M University Press: 179 pp.Google Scholar
Clarke, S.C., McAllister, M.K., Milner-Gulland, E.J., Kirkwood, G.P., Michielsens, C.G.J., Agnew, D.J., Pikitch, E.K., Nakano, H. & Shivji, M.S. (2006) Global estimates of shark catches using trade records from commercial markets. Ecology Letters 9: 1115–1126.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Compagno, L., Dando, M. & Fowler, S. (2005) Sharks of the World. Princeton, NJ, USA: Princeton University Press: 480 pp.Google Scholar
Compagno, L.J.V. (1984) FAO species catalogue, volume 4. Sharks of the world: an annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2. Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis 125: 251–655.Google Scholar
Conrath, C.L. & Musick, J.A. (2008) Investigations into depth and temperature habitat utilization and overwintering grounds of juvenile sandbar sharks, Carcharhinus plumbeus: the importance of near shore North Carolina waters. Environmental Biology of Fishes 82: 123–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durbin, J. & Watson, G.S. (1951) Testing for serial correlation in least squares regression. II. Biometrika 38: 159–178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Global Shark Attack File (2009) Incident log [www document]. URL http://www.sharkattackfile.net/incidentlog.htmGoogle Scholar
Grubbs, R.D., Musick, J.A., Conrath, C.L. & Romine, J.G. (2007) Long-term movements, migration, and temporal delineation of summer nurseries for juvenile sandbar sharks in the Chesapeake Bay region. In: Shark Nursery Grounds of the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast Waters of the United States, ed. McCandless, C.T., Kohler, N.E. & , H.L. Pratt Jr, pp. 87–107. Bethesda, MD, USA: American Fisheries Society Symposium Volume 50.Google Scholar
Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources (2009) Most recent shark incidents [www document]. URL http://www.hawaiisharks.com/incidents.htmlGoogle Scholar
Heupel, M.R., Simpendorfer, C.A., Collins, A.B. & Tyminski, J.P. (2006). Residence and movement patterns of bonnethead sharks, Sphyrna tiburo, in a large Florida estuary. Environmental Biology of Fishes 76: 47–67.Google Scholar
Hoyt, E. (2001) Whale Watching 2001: Worldwide Tourism Numbers, Expenditures, and Expanding Socioeconomic Benefits. Yarmouth Port, MA, USA: International Fund for Animal Welfare: 158 pp.Google Scholar
Johnson, R. & Kock, A. (2006) South Africa's white shark cage-diving industry: is there cause for concern? In: Finding a Balance: White Shark Conservation and Recreational Safety in the Inshore Waters of Cape Town, South Africa; Proceedings of a Specialist Workshop, ed. Nel, D.C. & Peschak, T.P., pp. 40–59. Capetown, South Africa: WWF South Africa Report Series – 2006/Marine/001.Google Scholar
Laroche, R.K., Kock, A.A., Dill, L.M. & Oosthuizen, W.H. (2007) Effects of provisioning ecotourism activity on the behaviour of white sharks Carcharodon carcharias. Marine Ecology Progress Series 338: 199–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malcolm, H., Bruce, B.D. & Stevens, J.D. (2001) A review of the biology and status of white shark in Australian waters. CSIRO Marine Research, Hobart, Australia: 113 pp.Google Scholar
Meyer, C.G., Clark, T.B., Papastamatiou, Y.P., Whitney, N.M. & Holland, K.N. (2009) Long-term movements of tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) in Hawaii. Marine Ecology Progress Series 381: 223–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myers, R.A., Baum, J.K., Shepherd, T.D., Powers, S.P. & Peterson, C.H. (2007) Cascading effects of the loss of apex predatory sharks from a coastal ocean. Science 30: 1846–1850.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orams, M.B. (2000) Feeding wildlife as a tourism attraction: a review of issues and impacts. Tourism Management 23: 281–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Papastamatiou, Y.P., Wetherbee, B.M., Lowe, C.G. & Crow, G.L. (2006) Distribution and diet of four species of Carcharhinid shark in the Hawaiian Islands: evidence for resource partitioning and competitive exclusion. Marine Ecology Progress Series 320: 239–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Papastamatiou, Y.P., Meyer, C.G. & Holland, K.N. (2008) A new acoustic pH transmitter for studying the feeding habits of free-ranging sharks. Aquatic Living Resources 20: 287–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pyper, B.J. & Peterman, R.M. (1998) Comparison of methods to account for autocorrelation in correlation analysis of fish data. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 55: 2127–2140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevens, J.D., Bonfil, R., Dulvy, N.K. & Walker, P.A. (2000) The effects of fishing on sharks, rays, and chimaeras (chondrichthyans), and the implications for marine ecosystems. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57: 476–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Theberge, M.M. & Dearden, P. (2006) Detecting a decline in whale shark Rhincodon typus sightings in the Andaman Sea, Thailand, using ecotourist operator-collected data. Oryx 40: 337–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, K.R. & Page, F.H. (1989) Detecting synchrony of recruitment using short, autocorrelated time series. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 46: 1831–1838.Google Scholar
Topelko, K.N. & Dearden, P. (2005) The shark watching industry and its potential contribution to shark conservation. Journal of Ecotourism 4: 108–128.Google Scholar
Walsh, W.A., Kleiber, P. & McCracken, M. (2002) Comparison of logbook reports of incidental blue shark catch rates by Hawaii-based longline vessels to fishery observer data by application of a generalized additive model. Fisheries Research 58: 79–94.Google Scholar
Wass, R.C. (1971) A comparative study of the life history, distribution, and ecology of the sandbar shark and gray reef shark in Hawaii. Doctoral dissertation, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.Google Scholar
Wass, R.C. (1973) Size, growth, and reproduction of the sandbar shark, Carcharhinus milberti, in Hawaii. Pacific Science 27: 305–318.Google Scholar
Wetherbee, B.M., Crow, G.L. & Lowe, C.G. (1996) The biology of the Galapagos shark, Carcharhinus galapagensis, in Hawaii. Environmental Biology of Fishes 45: 299–310.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Meyer et al. supplementary material

Appendix

Download Meyer et al. supplementary material(File)
File 460.3 KB