true

ISRA FACTSHEETS

ASIA REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

ASIA REGION

Langann & Lampi ISRA

57/122

Langann & Lampi ISRA

Langann & Lampi

Summary

Langann & Lampi is located on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula in southern Myanmar. The area consists of numerous islands within the Myeik Archipelago, characterised by coral reefs, seagrasses, and mangrove forests. The area overlaps the Lampi Marine National Park Area, the Langann Locally Managed Marine Area, two Key Biodiversity Areas, and the Lampi Marine National Park Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area. Within this area there are: threatened species (e.g., Blacktip Reef Shark Carcharhinus melanopterus); reproductive areas (e.g., Scalloped Hammerhead Sphyrna lewini); and undefined aggregations (Bentfin Devil Ray Mobula thurstoni).

Langann & Lampi

Langann & Lampi

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Langann & Lampi is located along the west coast of the Malay Peninsula in the Tanintharyi state of southern Myanmar. The area encompasses numerous islands, including Langann and Lampi islands. It is characterised by extensive coral reefs, mangrove forests, and seagrass beds (Howard 2018).

Located in the Bay of Bengal, this area is influenced by the boreal summer monsoon (May–October), which sees higher precipitation levels throughout the region (Xing et al. 2016).

This area overlaps with the Lampi Marine National Park Area, the Langann Locally Managed Marine Area, the Lampi Island Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) and Myeik Archipelago KBA (KBA 2024a, 2024b), and the Lampi Marine National Park Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (EBSA; CBD 2024).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthopelagic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 40 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 Scalloped Hammerhead (Rigby et al. 2019), the Endangered Bentfin Devil Ray (Marshall et al. 2022), and the Vulnerable Blacktip Reef Shark (Simpfendorfer et al. 2020).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C1 – REPRODUCTIVE AREAS

Langann & Lampi is an important reproductive area for two shark species.

Between May 2022 and January 2023, young-of-the-year (YOY) Blacktip Reef Sharks measuring <60 cm total length (TL; Arunrugstichai et al. 2018), including some with open umbilical scars, were recorded as incidental catch during gillnet surveys within the area (T Ko Gyi pers. obs. 2023). The size-at-birth for this species is 30–52 cm TL (Ebert et al. 2021). Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) from the communities in the Lampi Marine Park indicates that YOY Blacktip Reef Sharks are present year-round on the reefs in the marine park, particularly around Kanza Gyi Island in groups of up to ~20 individuals (H Aung pers. comms 2024). Between 2004–2015, landings of Blacktip Reef Sharks were also recorded from inshore fishing boats at sites across Langann & Lampi indicating the importance of this area for this species (Khine et al. 2020).

Between May 2022 and January 2023, neonate and YOY Scalloped Hammerheads were recorded during dedicated landing site surveys conducted within the area (T Ko Gyi pers. obs. 2023). During the surveys, 31 neonate (35–50 cm TL, with freshly healed umbilical scars; Arunrugstichai et al. 2018) were caught by five fishers around Wa Ale island, Kanza Gyi island, and Lampi main island (T Ko Gyi pers. obs. 2023). Additionally, >20 Scalloped Hammerhead pups were recorded each month on an annual basis during the monsoon season (May–July) as incidental catch in drift gillnet by inshore commercial fishers. Size-at-birth for this species is 31–57 cm TL (Ebert et al. 2021). LEK indicates that this area has regular incidental catch of hammerhead sharks year-round by gillnet fishers within and around the Lampi Marine Park (T Ko Gyi pers. obs. 2023). Monthly landing site surveys conducted between December 2018 and December 2019 in markets in the area also recorded Scalloped Hammerheads (Khine et al. 2020). Neonates and aborted embryos represented 88% of landings and measured 20–60 cm TL.

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C5 – UNDEFINED AGGREGATIONS

Langann & Lampi is an important area for undefined aggregations of one ray species.

Bentfin Devil Rays have been the subject of a targeted fishery and incidental capture in the Langann & Lampi area for at least 15 years (T Ko Gyi pers. obs. 2024). Since 2021, targeted devil ray fisheries have increased in the area, with an average of 50 Bentfin Devil Rays per day observed at one of the major processing suburbs in the area (T Ko Gyi pers. obs. 2024). Bentfin Devil Rays comprise the majority of devil rays recorded in the area, at roughly 80% of records. LEK from the Moken and island fishing communities report that devil rays aggregate to feed on the surface in the area between Pearl Island, Langann Island group, and Lampi Island every year in December and January (T Ko Gyi pers. obs. 2024), suggesting a seasonal cycle in this aggregation. Targeted devil ray fisheries have been operating around the islands in the area since 2007 (Howard et al. 2015), supporting the regular and predictable nature of these aggregations. Further information is required to determine the nature and function of these aggregations.

Langann & Lampi

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