Issues of Exploitation of Sharks by Thai Commercial Fisheries in the Andaman Sea

Thesis (M.Sc., Ecology (International Program))--Prince of Songkla University, 2018

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Main Author: Sirachai Arunrugstichai
Other Authors: James True
Format: Theses and Dissertations
Language:English
Published: Prince of Songkla University 2023
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Online Access:http://kb.psu.ac.th/psukb/handle/2016/19013
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Institution: Prince of Songkhla University
Language: English
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spelling th-psu.2016-190132023-11-02T03:16:40Z Issues of Exploitation of Sharks by Thai Commercial Fisheries in the Andaman Sea Sirachai Arunrugstichai James True Faculty of Science (Biology) คณะวิทยาศาสตร์ ภาควิชาชีววิทยา Sharks Conservation Sharks Ecology Thesis (M.Sc., Ecology (International Program))--Prince of Songkla University, 2018 The decline of sharks from the world's oceans has been widely recognized as a major environmental concern by the international conservation communities. This problem is particularly severe in the Southeast Asia region, especially Thailand, which is reported as one of the countries with the greatest declines of shark catches and is now in serious need of management measures. Unfortunately, scientific information concerning this taxon in this region is scarce, presenting a major hindrance to the development of conservation and management strategies. To address this shortage of information, market surveys at major shark landing sites of Thai commercial fisheries in the Andaman Sea were conducted over an entire year in Ranong province of Thailand, after a decade in which the massive declines in the shark catches (>90%) were recorded. In this study, catch composition, landing patterns and biological information of each shark species presented at landing sites were recorded. Of the 64 species previously reported in the existing Thai species list of sharks in the Andaman Sea, only 17 species were observed in this survey, although 1 genetically-confirmed new species, and 2 undescribed species were also recorded. In terms of species diversity, sharks from the family Carcharhinidae were the most diverse group, being represented by 11 species in this study. By number, the landings were largely dominated by bamboo sharks Chioloscyllium spp. from the family Hemiscylliidae, which contributed c. 65% of the total landings, followed by requiem sharks from the family Carcharhinidae, which contributed c. 30.5% total landings. By biomass, the landings were likewise dominated by carcharhinids, which contributed c. 71% to the total landings, followed by hemiscylliids, which contributed c. 27% to the total landings. The other sharks, which comprised single species from the families Squalidae, Sphyrnidae, Stegostomatidae and Triakidae, contributed c. 45% and c. 2% to the remaining percentages by number and biomass respectively. The study also found that the landing composition is markedly different from that reported by the previous landing survey of 2004, with significant declines of most large shark species with slow life-history characteristics, especially sphyrnid and carcharhinid species, which are likely to be at higher risks than most other species. Moreover, the absence of many species from the landings, coupled with noticeable shifts in life-stage compositions of landed specimens that include larger proportions of juveniles and neonates also suggest that the population of these groups of concern may be close to collapse. Management measures which highlight the urgent need for additional fisheries monitoring efforts and an increase in taxonomic resolution and the requirement of scientific research are urgently required. This is especially critical for analysis of the life-history and spatial ecology of key economic species to conduct accurate stock assessment. This thesis suggests that effective management of shark fisheries in the Andaman Sea needs greater incentives from stakeholder parties to encourage stakeholder buy-in of sustainable practices. Effective stock management may require collaborations with other countries in this region for transboundary management of vagile species. In addition, biological information of each shark species recorded is a key priority, which should prove to be beneficial for additional biological research of this group in the future. 2023-11-02T03:16:40Z 2023-11-02T03:16:40Z 2018 Thesis http://kb.psu.ac.th/psukb/handle/2016/19013 en Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Thailand http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/th/ application/pdf Prince of Songkla University
institution Prince of Songkhla University
building Khunying Long Athakravi Sunthorn Learning Resources Center
continent Asia
country Thailand
Thailand
content_provider Khunying Long Athakravi Sunthorn Learning Resources Center
collection PSU Knowledge Bank
language English
topic Sharks Conservation
Sharks Ecology
spellingShingle Sharks Conservation
Sharks Ecology
Sirachai Arunrugstichai
Issues of Exploitation of Sharks by Thai Commercial Fisheries in the Andaman Sea
description Thesis (M.Sc., Ecology (International Program))--Prince of Songkla University, 2018
author2 James True
author_facet James True
Sirachai Arunrugstichai
format Theses and Dissertations
author Sirachai Arunrugstichai
author_sort Sirachai Arunrugstichai
title Issues of Exploitation of Sharks by Thai Commercial Fisheries in the Andaman Sea
title_short Issues of Exploitation of Sharks by Thai Commercial Fisheries in the Andaman Sea
title_full Issues of Exploitation of Sharks by Thai Commercial Fisheries in the Andaman Sea
title_fullStr Issues of Exploitation of Sharks by Thai Commercial Fisheries in the Andaman Sea
title_full_unstemmed Issues of Exploitation of Sharks by Thai Commercial Fisheries in the Andaman Sea
title_sort issues of exploitation of sharks by thai commercial fisheries in the andaman sea
publisher Prince of Songkla University
publishDate 2023
url http://kb.psu.ac.th/psukb/handle/2016/19013
_version_ 1783957335563042816