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ISRA FACTSHEETS

NEW ZEALAND & PACIFIC ISLANDS REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

NEW ZEALAND & PACIFIC ISLANDS REGION

Pioneer Bank ISRA

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Pioneer Bank ISRA

Pioneer Bank

Summary

Pioneer Bank is a seamount located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in the United States of America. It is situated ~70 km east of Lisianski Island and ~450 km southwest of Midway Atoll. The area is characterised by sandy substrates with pebbles and coral rubble, and low rugosity. The area overlaps with the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Key Biodiversity Area and with the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Within this area there are: range-restricted species (Hawaiian Spurdog Squalus hawaiiensis).

Pioneer Bank

Pioneer Bank

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Pioneer Bank is located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in the United States of America. This seamount is situated ~70 km east of Lisianski Island and ~450 km southwest of Midway Atoll (Uchida & Uchiyama 1986). The summit extends ~29 km from northeast to southwest and ~21 km from northwest to southeast (Mejía-Mercado & Baco 2022). The area is characterised by sandy substrates with pebbles and low rugosity on the northeast side, hard substrates and low rugosity on the northwest and hard substrates with coral rubble and low rugosity on the south (Mejía-Mercado & Baco 2022). The sea bottom temperature averages ~9.8°C (Mejía-Mercado & Baco 2022).

The area overlaps with the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Key Biodiversity Area (KBA 2024) and with the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (UNEP-WCMC & IUCN 2024).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthic and subsurface and is delineated from 300 m to 450 m based on the distribution of the Qualifying Species in the area.

CRITERION B

RANGE RESTRICTED

This area holds the regular presence of the Hawaiian Spurdog as a resident range-restricted species. Autonomous underwater vehicle surveys (AUV) conducted in Pioneer Bank in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands during 2014 and 2015, which included 2–3 replicate photo transects of ~1,000 metres each, detected the Hawaiian Spurdog at depths of 300–450 m (Mejía-Mercado & Baco 2022). Thirty-eight individuals were observed on the northwest (in 2014) and northeast (in 2015) sides of the seamount (Mejía-Mercado & Baco 2022). AUV surveys from 2016 and 2017 confirm the species’ continued presence in the area and have indicated that the northwest side of this seamount shows the highest abundance of Hawaiian Spurdog compared to other seamounts in the region (Mejía-Mercado & Baco 2023; Mejía-Mercado unpubl. data 2024). The Hawaiian Spurdog is only found within the Insular Pacific-Hawaiian Large Marine Ecosystem.

Pioneer Bank

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