Agig-Ras Kasar is an important reproductive area for three shark and one ray species.
Available information on Blacktip Sharks, Blacktip Reef Sharks, and Scalloped Hammerheads is from surveys regularly undertaken at a landing site in this area for over a decade. This is an important site as landings from fisheries operating in the area are centralised to this location (Elhassan 2002; I Elhassan unpubl. data 2023). Although there are limited year and length data available, the data below provide a snapshot into the habitat-use of sharks in this area.

Catch data are available for Blacktip Sharks from 2013–2014. During this period, 924 Blacktip Sharks were recorded from the area. From these, 555 were considered neonates or young-of-the-year (YOY) based on their body size. These specimens measured ~50 cm TL which overlaps with their size-at-birth of 45–60 cm TL (Ebert et al. 2021). The catch also reflects how the area supports Blacktip Sharks at other lifecycle stages with 83 adults and 286 immature individuals recorded. Blacktip Shark neonates and pregnant females are caught in February each year. This area is particularly important in the Red Sea as it is the only location with sufficient information on the regular and predictable use of an area for reproductive purposes by Blacktip Sharks.

Catch data are available for Blacktip Reef Sharks from 2014. During that year, 3,354 Blacktip Reef Sharks were recorded from the area. From these, 196 were considered neonates or YOY based on their body size. These catches are made from July until August when they peak. Measurements are available for 21 adult females (197–276 cm TL) that were caught in 2014, which aborted 135 near-term embryos (73 males and 62 females). The litter size ranged between 2–10, and embryos measured 24–71 cm TL which overlaps with their size-at-birth of 38–72 cm TL (Ebert et al. 2021). This area is particularly important in the Red Sea as it is the only location with sufficient information on the regular and predictable use of an area for reproductive purposes by Blacktip Reef Sharks.

Catch data are available for Scalloped Hammerheads from 2013. During that year, 193 Scalloped Hammerheads were recorded from the area. From these, 83 were considered neonates based on their body size. These specimens measured ~50 cm TL which overlaps with their size-at-birth of 42–55 cm TL (Ebert et al. 2021). The catch also reflects how the area supports Scalloped Hammerheads at other lifecycle stages with 31 adults and 79 immature individuals recorded. Scalloped Hammerhead neonates and pregnant females are caught from this area from December to March.

There are at least 28 contemporary records (since 2011) of Green Sawfish in Agig-Ras Kasar. This is the largest clustering of contemporary Green Sawfish records in the Western Indian Ocean. Green Sawfish regularly occur in the area (Elhassan 2018), with records as recent as the years 2021–2022 (I Elhassan unpubl. data 2023). Green Sawfish is the only sawfish species currently found in the Sudanese Red Sea (Elhassan 2018), and one of two remaining in the Western Indian Ocean (alongside Largetooth Sawfish Pristis pristis). In April 2021, 10 Green Sawfish were caught in Agig Bay with four of these classified as pups based on the body size and slightly healed umbilical scars. In December 2021, one gravid female Green Sawfish was caught. Between April and August 2022, at least 11 Green Sawfish were observed around Agig Bay. Between April and May 2022, fishers in Ras Kasar caught six Green Sawfish (including 4 pups) in shallow muddy areas close to mangrove habitat. In addition to these records, fishers responded to a campaign to document the presence of juvenile Green Sawfish in Kalafia in August 2022. Here, one live Green Sawfish was observed resting on a sandy substrate with sparse stone (I Elhassan unpubl. data 2023). The timing of these observations infers that the breeding season for Green Sawfish in this area begins in January and peaks in March. These observations are consistent with known habitat preferences (Elhassan 2018), further inferring that Agig-Ras Kasar is an important reproductive area for Green Sawfish.