ISRA FACTSHEETS
ISRA FACTSHEETS
SOUTH AMERICAN ATLANTIC REGION
Bocas de Ceniza-Salamanca
Summary
Bocas de Ceniza-Salamanca is located in the central Colombian Caribbean. The area is a shelf habitat with sandy and muddy substrates. It is characterised by a dry season with strong trade winds, upwelling, higher salinity, and cooler temperatures and a rainy season with turbid waters and reduced salinity due to freshwater inputs from nearby rivers. The area overlaps with the Ciénaga Grande, Isla de Salamanca and Sabana Grande RAMSAR biosphere reserve Key Biodiversity Area. Within this area there are: threatened species (e.g., Silky Shark Carcharhinus falciformis); reproductive areas (e.g., Scalloped Hammerhead Sphyrna lewini); and distinctive areas (Smalltail Shark Carcharhinus porosus).
Download factsheet
Bocas de Ceniza-Salamanca
DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT
Bocas de Ceniza-Salamanca is located in the central Colombian Caribbean. The area is part of the Atlántico and Magdalena departments. It extends from Bocas de Ceniza in the west, where the Magdalena River flows into the sea, to the region around Don Jaca. It is a shelf habitat with sandy and muddy substrates. The area is influenced by a semi-arid tropical climate with two main seasons: a dry season (December–April), marked by strong trade winds, upwelling, higher salinity, and cooler temperatures (21–25°C), and a rainy season (September–November), characterised by turbid waters and reduced salinity due to freshwater inputs from nearby rivers (Magdalena, Toribio, Cordoba, Gaira, and Manzanares) and the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (Arévalo-Martínez & Franco-Herrera 2008; García et al. 2013).
The area overlaps with the Ciénaga Grande, Isla de Salamanca and Sabana Grande RAMSAR biosphere reserve Key Biodiversity Area (KBA 2025).
This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthic and pelagic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 50 m based on the bathymetry of the area.
CRITERION A
VULNERABILITY
Three Qualifying Species considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species regularly occur in the area. These are the Critically Endangered Smalltail Shark (Pollom et al. 2020) and Scalloped Hammerhead (Rigby et al. 2019); and the Vulnerable Silky Shark (Rigby et al. 2021).
CRITERION C
SUB-CRITERION C1 – REPRODUCTIVE AREAS
Bocas de Ceniza-Salamanca is an important reproductive area for three shark species.
Neonate and young-of-the-year (YOY) Silky Shark have been recorded regularly from artisanal fisheries operating in the area (Anguila-Gómez & Hernández-Beracasa 2011; Garzón-Peña 2018; Navia et al. 2021; Forero 2022). Between February and July 2010, Silky Sharks (n = 35) with an average size of 81.8 ± 22 cm total length (TL) were recorded (Anguila-Gómez & Hernández-Beracasa 2011). The reported size-at-birth for the species is ~56–87 cm TL (Ebert et al. 2021), confirming that the average individuals sampled were neonates/YOY. Between 2017–2018, 19 individuals measuring 78.5–252 cm TL were recorded. All but one individual was immature and seven (36%) were neonates/YOY, measuring 79–110 cm TL (Garzón-Peña 2018). Additionally, at Bocas de Ceniza (mouth of the Magdalena River), five YOY (81–100 cm TL) were recorded in February and March 2021 (Navia et al. 2021). Of 53 Silky Sharks (74–150 cm TL) recorded in the area between 2020–2021, 29 (54.7%) were YOY (74–110 cm TL) while the rest were juveniles (Forero 2022). Between 2012–2021, the Colombian fisheries statistical system recorded the regular catches of Silky Sharks in the area year-round confirming the regular presence of the species in the area (De La Hoz et al. 2014, 2015, 2017; Duarte et al. 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021).
Between September 2016 and August 2017, 133 Smalltail Sharks were recorded in landings from fisheries operating in the area (Ávila 2018). Of these, three were pregnant females and 103 were YOY, measuring <45 cm TL. The reported size-at-birth for this species is 30–40 cm TL (Ebert et al. 2021). Additionally, a pregnant female (153 cm TL) with 11 embryos was recorded in 2018 around the Las Flores area (Garzón-Peña et al. 2020). Smalltail Sharks were regularly caught year-round in the area between 2012–2021 according to the Colombian fisheries statistical system (De La Hoz et al. 2014, 2015, 2017; Duarte et al. 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021).
Between February and July 2010, 18 Scalloped Hammerheads were recorded from landings of artisanal fisheries operating in the area (Anguila-Gómez & Hernández-Beracasa 2011). Individuals measured 84.5 ± 30.2 cm TL on average. The reported size-at-birth for the species is 31–57 cm TL (Ebert et al. 2021), confirming that the average individuals sampled were YOY. Between July 2017 and March 2018, 15 Scalloped Hammerheads measuring between 48–203 cm TL were recorded in landings from artisanal fisheries operating in the area (Garzón-Peña 2018). Five individuals (33.3%) were classified as neonates, measuring <57 cm TL and only two individuals were mature. Further, in February, March, and May 2021, 22 Scalloped Hammerheads were recorded at Bocas de Ceniza (mouth of the Magdalena River) (Navia et al. 2021). Of these, seven (31.8%) were considered YOY based on their size (64–85 cm TL) while the others were juveniles (85–101 cm TL; Navia et al. 2021). Scalloped Hammerhead catches have been reported year-round in the area between 2012–2021 according to the Colombian fisheries statistical system confirming the regular presence of the species in the area (De La Hoz et al. 2014, 2015, 2017; Duarte et al. 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021).
CRITERION D
SUB-CRITERION D1 – DISTINCTIVENESS
Bocas de Ceniza–Salamanca is an important area for distinctive behaviour of one shark species.
Smalltail Sharks exhibit a globally distinct behaviour in this area. Smalltail Sharks are suspected to travel upstream into the freshwater habitat of the Magdalena River. This is because stomach content analyses of 133 individuals collected between September 2016 and August 2017 revealed the presence of freshwater fishes as part of their diet (Ávila 2018). Tetra Astyanax magdalenae and Hatched Characin Triportheus magdalenae were present in four of the stomachs analysed and represented 3.4% of the index of relative importance. These species are restricted to freshwater habitats (Jiménez-Segura et al. 2016; García-Alzate & Morales 2022) which indicates that Smalltail Sharks move up in the Magdalena River to feed on freshwater prey. This behaviour has not been previously recorded for the species anywhere else in the world.
Download factsheet
SUBMIT A REQUEST
ISRA SPATIAL LAYER REQUEST
To make a request to download the ISRA Layer in either a GIS compatible Shapefile (.shp) or Google Earth compatible Keyhole Markup Language Zipped file (.kmz) please complete the following form. We will review your request and send the download details to you. We will endeavor to send you the requested files as soon as we can. However, please note that this is not an automated process, and before requests are responded to, they undergo internal review and authorization. As such, requests normally take 5–10 working days to process.
Should you have questions about the data or process, please do not hesitate to contact us.
