Abstract

National and regional acoustic telemetry networks with collaborative data-sharing platforms have greatly increased our capacity to monitor migratory elasmobranch movements. The Sarasota Coast Acoustic Network (SCAN), off the west coast of Florida, USA is nested within the collaborative iTAG and FACT array networks which span the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and US Atlantic coast. The SCAN study area includes estuarine creeks, bays, passes, and coastal waters out to 85 km from shore. Several shark (C.leucas, C.limbatus, S.mokarran, S.lewini, C.plumbeus, G.cuvier, S.tiburo) and ray (A.narinari, M.hypostoma) species as well as snook (C.undecimalis) and whelk (S.sinistrum) were tagged in the SCAN array between 2016 and 2022 with Innovasea-Vemco acoustic transmitters. Shark species showed patterns of seasonal residency and were also detected outside the SCAN array, while snook and whelk were year-round residents. Data from 80 A.narinari and four M.hypostoma rays showed seasonal migratory patterns in the GOM. A majority of A.narinari detections in spring, summer, and autumn months ranged from Charlotte Harbor through the northern GOM while winter detections ranged south of the SCAN study area to the Florida Keys. Three of the four M.hypostoma tagged during summer and autumn months were detected in the northern GOM in winter months. The seasonal differences in move-ments between these two ray species were likely related to temperature preferences and food availability. Data shared via iTAG and FACT were important in informing seasonal presence and movement patterns, information which is critically needed to effectively manage these endangered ray species

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