true

ISRA FACTSHEETS

WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN REGION

Kilwa Seascape ISRA

63/125

Kilwa Seascape ISRA

Kilwa Seascape

Summary

Kilwa Seascape is situated off the Kilwa District, along the central-southern Tanzanian coastline. The area comprises diverse marine and coastal habitats such as coral reefs, seagrass beds, intertidal areas, and the largest contiguous block of mangrove forest in Eastern Africa. It overlaps with an Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area, one Key Biodiversity Area, one Ramsar site and one Marine Protected Area. Within the area there are: threatened and range-restricted species (Zanzibar Guitarfish Acroteriobatus zanzibarensis).

Kilwa Seascape

Kilwa Seascape

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Kilwa Seascape is located off the Kilwa District and is a section of the Rufiji-Mafia-Kilwa Seascape along the central-southern Tanzanian coastline. This area includes part of the largest contiguous block of mangrove forest (Rufiji) on the Eastern African seaboard, extensive coral reefs, seagrass beds, and harbours the highest levels of coral and fish biodiversity in the region (Rubens 2004; CBD 2023). The area is influenced by the southern section of the Rufiji Delta which fringes into coastal areas forming estuaries (Tumbo et al. 2015).

Kilwa Seascape overlaps with the Rufiji-Mafia-Kilwa Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (EBSA; CBD 2023) and the Rufiji Delta Key Biodiversity Area (KBA; KBA 2023). It also overlaps with the Rufiji-Mafia-Kibiti-Kilwa Biosphere Reserve and the Rufiji-Mafia-Kilwa Ramsar site (Wetland of International Importance; Ramsar 2023). The area also falls under the Nyamanjisopoja and Somaki Community Collaborative Fishing Management Area (CFMA; URT 2023).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthopelagic and extends from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 50 m based on the distribution of the Qualifying Species.

CRITERION A

VULNERABILITY

The one Qualifying Species within the area is considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM. The Zanzibar Guitarfish is assessed as Endangered (Jabado et al. submitted).

CRITERION B

RANGE RESTRICTED

This area holds the regular presence of the Zanzibar Guitarfish as a resident range-restricted species. This species was regularly observed in monitored artisanal fisheries within the area between 2019–2021, with a total of 53 individuals landed during this time (Wildlife Conservation Society unpubl. data 2023). This species is endemic to the Somali Coastal Current Large Marine Ecosystem.

During the same period, Zanzibar Guitarfish were not landed at any of the six other artisanal fisher landing sites monitored along mainland Tanzania and located outside this area (Wildlife Conservation Society unpubl. data 2023), suggesting that this area harbours important habitat for this species in comparison to other areas off mainland Tanzania. Based on local expert knowledge, fishers from Kilwa Pwani have mentioned that in the southern part of the area they can catch 50–100 Zanzibar Guitarfish at a time (B. Neke Kuboja unpubl. data 2023), suggesting that this species aggregates in this area. However, more information is needed to confirm the presence of these aggregations.  This species was thought to be endemic to the Zanzibar Archipelago (Weigmann et al. 2021), so its confirmed regular presence in Kilwa Seascape is of global importance.

Kilwa Seascape

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.

    * indicates required

    Industry or sector (*)

    Under the terms and conditions of our User License Agreement , full and appropriate acknowledgement is required in any materials and publications derived from the data (and copies should be sent to the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group through the contact form). For any publications making substantial use of the data, the ISRA welcomes the opportunity for co-authorship, collaboration, and to comment prior to publication.


    Furthermore, we need to know whether you are a commercial or non-commercial user. Non-commercial includes scientific research, education or conservation. Commercial is defined as follows: any use by, on behalf of, or to inform or assist the activities of a commercial entity (that operates ‘for profit’) or use by a non-profit for the purposes of revenue generation

    Type of use(*):

    Please specify which layer (ex. all layers, layers within a specific Region, layers within a Jurisdiction or a single ISRA): Purpose (*):

    Please provide a description of how you intend to use the ISRA GIS Dataset. The more details you provide, the faster we can respond to your request. We may require further clarification prior to providing access. (min. 100 characters – max 1,000 characters)



    File format request (*)

    By providing your personal data, you consent to its processing as described below. The IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group will use the information you provide on this form to send the documents you requested. You can change your mind at any time by writing to the ISRA Data Coordinator www.sharkrayareas.org/contact. All personal details provided will be treated with respect. For any information you can visit our Privacy Policy.
    Please read the User License Agreement and ISRA Layer Metadata Description

    This form uses Google reCaptcha to reduce spam. Privacy - Terms