Record of three specimens of megamouth sharks - Megachasma pelagios - in tropical tuna purse seine fisheries in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans

Abstract

The observer programme onboard the Spanish tropical tuna purse seine fleet recorded the incidental catch of one adult megamouth shark Megachasma pelagios in December 2005 and two juvenile megamouth sharks in the eastern Atlantic in July 2016 and August 2018, respectively. The same fleet also bycaught an adult individual in December 2005 in the western Indian Ocean. The juveniles were caught relatively near to the coast, while the adult was caught in oceanic waters. The companion species in the fishing sets were elasmobranchs, tuna and billfish.