Volume 62
Preliminary Results from Tag-Recapture Procedures Applied to Lemon Sharks, Negaprion brevirostris (Poey 1868), at Los Roques Archipelago, Venezuela
Authors
Tavares, R. Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2009
Pages: 450-454
Event: Proceedings of the Sixty -Second Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Cumaná
Country: Venezuela
Abstract
During the period 2005-2008, 13 field surveys were conducted within the Archipelago Los Roques in order to examine the population structure and growth of juvenile lemon sharks, Negaprion brevirostris. Tag-recapture procedures were concentrated in the Sebastopol Lagoon (SL), an area previously identified as a nursery ground for this species. During the study, a total of 102 juvenile N. brevirostris (40.4-95.0 cm PCL) were captured within the SL; of these, 96 individuals were successfully tagged and released. Length composition was significantly different between sexes (Kruskal-Wallis; p < 0.001). Neonates (mean size: 46.1 cm PCL) were observed during June and July months, indicating that the birth season corresponds to this period. Mean growth rates were 24.2 cm/year for males and 21.9 cm/year for females. These estimates indicated that in the study area, juvenile N. brevirostris grow more rapidly than do juveniles in other populations of the same species distributed in the western Atlantic.