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ISRA FACTSHEETS

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN PACIFIC REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN PACIFIC REGION

Gulf of Chiriquí ISRA

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Gulf of Chiriquí ISRA

Gulf of Chiriquí

Summary

Gulf of Chiriquí covers a large portion of the continental shelf in western Pacific Panama. It includes Coiba National Park and its special zone of marine protection which is a World Heritage Site. The area encompasses 38 islands, including Coiba Island, the largest island in the Pacific Central-American Coastal Large Marine Ecosystem, with a diversity of coastal and benthic habitats. These include rocky shores, sandy substrates, mangrove ecosystems, coral reefs, pelagic waters, and a prominent seamount. Within this area there are: threatened species (e.g., Pacific Smalltail Shark Carcharhinus cerdale); reproductive areas (e.g., Scalloped Hammerhead Sphyrna lewini); feeding areas (Whale Shark Rhincodon typus); resting areas (Whitetip Reef Shark Triaenodon obesus); areas important for movement (Whale Shark); and the area sustains a high diversity of sharks (22 species).

Gulf of Chiriquí

Gulf of Chiriquí

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Gulf of Chiriquí covers a relatively large area of continental shelf in western Pacific Panama within Chiriquí and Veraguas provinces. It includes Coiba National Park and its special zone of marine protection, a reserve identified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The area sits in the Corredor Marino del Pacífico Oriental Tropical Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (EBSA). The Gulf of Chiriquí encompasses 38 islands, including Coiba Island, the largest island in the Pacific Central-America Coastal Large Marine Ecosystem. The coastal and shallow areas have a great diversity of environments that range from sandy bottoms and rocky shores to mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs (Guzman et al. 2004). The substrate is varied including hard carbonate, coral communities, seagrass, algae, sand, and mud (Benfield et al. 2007).

Gulf of Chiriquí covers inshore, coastal, and insular depths to the continental shelf break at the southern end of Coiba, Jicaron, and Jicarita Islands in the southeast of the area, Montuosa Island in the southwest of the area, and Hannibal Bank (a submerged seamount that rises to ~20 m below the water surface). The area includes one of the largest reef areas (1.36 km2) in Pacific Panama (Maté 2003). The area is also regionally significant as part of the Tropical Eastern Pacific Marine Corridor, a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that includes Galápagos (Ecuador), Cocos (Costa Rica), Malpelo, and Gorgona (Colombia). This extensive network of MPAs is connected by a series of currents and other oceanographic conditions that promote a high diversity of species.

This Important Shark and Ray Area is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to a depth of 1,000 m based on the outer edge depth contour of the area (Navionics 2022).

CRITERION A

VULNERABILITY

Twenty-two Qualifying Species considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM regularly occur in the area. Threatened sharks comprise five Critically Endangered species, four Endangered species, and six Vulnerable species; threatened rays comprise seven Vulnerable species (IUCN 2022). These species are regularly observed or landed in local artisanal fisheries supporting their regular occurrence in the area (Guzman et al. 2018, 2022; Ruiz-Leotaud & Pauly 2018; Vega & Villarreal 2003; Vega et al. 2019; 2023).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C1 – REPRODUCTIVE AREAS

Gulf of Chiriquí is an important reproductive area for two shark species. In a study examining catches of artisanal fisheries during 2009–2010, Scalloped Hammerheads represented 56.7% (n = 421) of all shark captures and included young-of-the-year and gravid females (Vega et al. 2023). The mean size of the individuals captured was 66.3 cm total length (TL), with embryos recorded from 18.1 cm TL. Reported size-at-birth of Scalloped Hammerhead in the Eastern Pacific includes 47–55 cm TL for Ecuador (Estupiñán-Montaña et al. 2021).

Captures of Pacific Smalltail Shark in the Gulf of Chiriquí include individuals representing young-of-the-year based on size. Ninety individuals with sizes between 35.5 and 97 cm TL with a mean of 65.9 cm TL were recorded in a study of artisanal fishery catches during 2009–2010 (Vega et al. 2023). Reported size-at-birth of Pacific Smalltail Shark is >30 cm TL (based on size of near-term embryos; Castro 2011) with the smallest Gulf of Chiriquí individuals representing young-of-the-year based in their size.

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C2 – FEEDING AREAS

Gulf of Chiriquí is an important foraging ground for one shark species. Whale Sharks form a seasonal aggregation in the area (Guzman et al. 2022). Within the Panama Pacific, the primary foraging sites for Whale Shark were shown to be the Gulf of Panama and the Gulf of Chiriquí (Guzman et al. 2022). Concentrations of chlorophyll-a and primary productivity were significantly correlated with the foraging behaviour of Whale Sharks in these areas (Guzman et al. 2022).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C3 – RESTING AREAS

Gulf of Chiriquí is an important resting area for one shark species. Whitetip Reef Sharks are commonly observed resting around the rocky shore and coral reef areas of Coiba National Park (Vega et al. 2019). This is a known documented resting behaviour for this species (Randall 1977).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C4 – MOVEMENT

Gulf of Chiriquí is an important movement area for one shark species. Spatial analysis of satellite tracking data from Whale Sharks shows that this area is situated within an important migratory route for this species in the Pacific Ocean (Guzman et al. 2018, 2022). Data comes from 25 Whale Sharks tagged in the Gulf of Chiriquí (Guzman et al. 2018). Some Whale Shark individuals tagged in Panama have been shown to move north to Mexico, south to Ecuador, and west to the open ocean, highlighting the connectivity between the Gulf of Chiriquí and other areas in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Recent studies have also documented a trans-Pacific migration of 20,000 km of a female Whale Shark from Gulf of Chiriquí (Coiba Island) to the western Pacific (Mariana Trench) (Guzman et al. 2018). This finding illustrates the migratory connectivity between two ocean basins, the eastern Pacific and western Pacific.

CRITERION D

SUB-CRITERION D2 – DIVERSITY

Gulf of Chiriquí sustains a high diversity of Qualifying Species (22 species). This exceeds the regional diversity threshold (17 species) for the Central and South Pacific American region.

These species are regularly observed or landed in local artisanal fisheries supporting their regular occurrence in the area (Guzman et al. 2018, 2022; Ruiz-Leotaud & Pauly 2018; Vega & Villarreal 2003; Vega et al. 2019, 2023).

Gulf of Chiriquí

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