As part of conservation means, ecotourism on shark watching activities has been popular for the last 10 – 25 years. Achieving rank fourth in the shark tourism world, shark watching tourism in Indonesia begins to play as an economically important for gross national products (GDPs). Morotai, as one of the prominent shark diving and shark research site in Indonesia is became popular in recent years. However, the precise number of blacktip reef shark living in Morotai’s most famous dive site, blacktip point is unknown. The knowledge of shark individual marking and their number is important for developing ecological assessment, shark diving carrying capacity, and shark behavior observation. DOV (Diver Operated Video) is employed to visually identify the blacktip reef shark’s fin marking, its patterns and its changes over time. Analysis of hundreds of photographs and video of the Carcharhinus melanopterus during SCUBA diving – from February 2015 to March 2019 – reveals the precise number of these blacktip reef shark living in the proximity of blacktip point area. Study also shows that the photo identification shark fin’s natural marking can be used effectively to recognize unique individual of blacktip reef shark.
Topics
Educational assessment
REFERENCES
1.
Fromm
, Jeff
, (2014
). How Shark Week Took a Bite Out of Millennials
. Forbes
, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffromm/2014/10/14/how-shark-week-took-a-bite-out-of-millennials/#2a45756a5c61., accessed on April, 29th, 20192.
Dulvy
, N.K.
, et al, (2004
). Coral reef cascades and the indirect effects of predator removal by exploitations
. Ecology Letters
, 7
, 410
–416
.3.
Topelko
, K.
and Dearden
, P.
(2005
). The shark watching industry and its potential contribution for shark conservation
. Journal of Ecotourism
, 4
(2
), 108
–128
.4.
Gallagher
, A.J.
, et al (2015
). Biological effects, conservation potentials, and research priorities of shark diving tourism
. Biological Conservation
, 184
, 365
–379
.5.
Bres
, M.
(1993
). The behavior of shark
. Rev. Fish Biol. Fish.
3
, 133
–159
.6.
Carwardine
, M.
and Watterson
, K.
(2002
). The Shark-Watcher’s Handbook: A Guide to Sharks and Where to See Them. Princeton University Press
. New York
.7.
Gallagher
, A.J.
and Huveneers
, C.P.M.
(2018
). Emerging challenges to shark diving tourism
. Marine Policy
, 96
, 9
–11
.8.
Clua
, Eric E.G.
, (2018
). Managing bite risk for divers in the context of shark feeding ecotourism: A case study from French Polynesia (Eastern Pacific)
. Tourism Management
, 68
, 275
–283
.9.
Maljkovic
, A.
and Cote
, I.
(2012
). Effects of tourism-related provisioning on the trophic signatures and movement patterns of an apex predator, the Caribbean reef shark
. Biological Conservation.
144
: 859
–865
10.
Tull
, Malcolm
. (2009
). The History of Shark Fishing in Indonesia
. Working Paper No. 158, Murdoch University
.11.
Mukharror
, D.A.
, et al (2019
). Blacktip Reefshark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) Movement Displays during Interaction with SCUBA Diver in Morotai Waters, Maluku Utara, Indonesia
.12.
Mukharror
, D.A.
, et al (2015
). Shark Diving Tourism in Morotai, North Maluku, Indonesia
. Simposium Hiu dan Pari di Indonesia, KKP dan WWF
, Jakarta, Indonesia
13.
Anna
and Saputra
, 2015
. Economic Valuation of Whaleshark Tourism in Cenderawasih Bay National Park, Papua, Indonesia
. Biodiversitas.
18
: 1026
–1034
.14.
Ni
Tua
, Indra
. (2018
). Sustainable Tourism Development in Indonesia: Harnessing the Contribution, Preserving the Environment
. Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy
. Malang
.15.
Mukharror
, D.A.
(2018
). Shark tourism and conservation in Indonesia: potentials, challenges and threat
. Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. Our Ocean Conference
.16.
Lyle
, JM
. (1987
). Observations on the biology of Carcharhinus cautus (Whitley), Carcharhinus melanopterus (Quoy and Gaimard), and Carcharhinus fitzroyensis (Whitley) from Northern Australia
. The Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research.
38
: 701
–710
.17.
White
, W.T.
, et al (2006
). Economically Important Sharks and Rays of Indonesia. CSIRO Publishing
. Canberra
.18.
Stevens
, J.D.
(1984
). Atoll, Indian Ocean Life-History and Ecology of Sharks at Aldabra
. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B.
222
: 79
–106
.19.
Lyle
, J.M.
and Timms
, G.D.
(1987
). Predation of aquatic snakes by the sharks from Northern Australia
. Copeia
. 1987:802
– 803
.20.
Papastamatiou
, Y.P.
, et al (2009
). Distribution, size frequency, and sex ratios of blacktip reef sharks
, Carcharhinus melanopterus,at Palmyra Atoll: a predator dominated ecosystem. J. Fish Biol.
75
: 647
–654
.21.
Compagno
, L.V.
(2001
) Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date
. FAO species catalogue.
Vol. 4
, part I. Roma.22.
Zenetos
, A.
, et al (2005
). Alien species in the Mediterranean Sea by 2010. A contribution to the application of European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Part I. Spatial distribution
. Medit. Mar. Sci.
11
(2
): 381
–493
.23.
Lopez-Garro
, J.
(2012
). First record of the blacktip reef shark Carcharhinus melanopterus (Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae) from the Tropical Eastern Pacific
. Rev. Biol. Trop. (Int. J. Trop. Biol.
60
: 275
–278
24.
Nelson
, D.R.
and Johnson
, R.H.
(1980
). Behavior of the reef sharks of Rangiroa, French Polynesia
. Nat. Geo. Soc. Res. Rep.
12: 479
–499
.25.
Mukharror
, D.A.
, et al (2017
). Correlation Between Existence of Reef Sharks with Abundance of Reef Fishes: Carnivore and Herbivore Type in South Waters of Morotai Island (North Moluccas)
. IOP Con. Series: Earth and Env. Sci.
89
:26.
Chin
, Andrew
. (2013
). The biology and ecology of blacktip reef shark
Carcharhinus melanopterus
(Quoy and Gaimard, 1824) and implications for management. James Cook University
. PhD Thesis.27.
28.
Sosa-Nishizaki
, Oscar
, et al (2012
). Problem with photo identification as a method of estimating abundance of White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias: an example from Guadelupe Island, Mexico. Chapter 26 in Global Perspectives on the Biology and Life History of the White Shark
(ed. Michael L.
Domeier
). CRC Press
. New York
.29.
Anderson
, Scott D.
, and Kenneth J.
Goldman
. (1996
). Photographic evidence of white shark movements in California waters
. California Fish and Game.
82
(4
): 182
–186
30.
Towner
, Alison
, et al. (2013
). Gauging the threat: the first population estimate for white sharks in South Africa using photo identification and automated software
. PLOSone.
8
(6
): 1
–7
31.
Hughes
, Benjamin
and Tilo
Burghardt
. (2017
). Automated visual fin identification of individual great white sharks
. Int. J. Comput. Vis.
122
: 542
–557
32.
Gore
, Mauvis A.
, et al (2016
). Use of photo-identification and mark-recapture methodology to assess basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) populations
. PLOSone
. 11
(3
): 1
–22
33.
Whitney
, Nicholas
M.
, et al (2010
). Movement, reproductive seasonality, and fisheries interactions in the whitetip reef shark
(Triaenodon obesus) from community-contributed photographs. Environ. Biol. Fish.
93
:p121
-136
34.
Holmber
, Jason
, et al (2009
). Estimating population size, structure, and residency time for whale sharks
Rhincodon typus through collaborative photo-identification. Endangered Species Research.
7
: 39
–53
35.
McKinney
, Jennifer
, et al (2017
). Long term assessment of whale shark population demography and connectivity using photo-identification in the Western Atlantic Ocean
. PLOSone.
12
(8
): 1
–18
.36.
Castro
, Andrey
L.F.
and Ricardo S.
Rosa
. (2005
). Use of natural marks on population estimates of the nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, at Atol das Rocas Biologival Reserve
, Brazil. Envir. Biol. Fish.
12
: 213
–221
.37.
vanTienhoven
, A.M.
, et al (2007
). A computer-aided program for pattern-matching of natural marks on the spotted raggedtooth shark Carcharias taurus
. J. App. Ecology.
44
: 273
–280
38.
Afonso
, Andre
S
, et al (2016
). Evasive mating behaviour by female nurse sharks, Ginglymostoma cirratum (Bonnaterre, 1788), in an equatorial insular breeding ground
. Neotrophical Ichtyology.
14
(4
)39.
Garner
, M.M.
(2013
). A retrospective study of elasmobranch disease. Veterinary Pathology
, 50
(30
): 377
–389
.40.
Mukharror
, D.A.
, et al (2018
). First records of bentfin devil ray (Mobula thurstoni) and the examination in physical factors of its habitat in the western waters of Morotai Island (North Moluccas)
. 2018 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.
137
:
This content is only available via PDF.
© 2019 Author(s).
2019
Author(s)
