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ISRA FACTSHEETS

WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN REGION

Marjan ISRA

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Marjan ISRA

Marjan

Summary

Marjan is a small area on the eastern side of Kish Island, located in Persian Gulf waters of Hormozgan Province, Iran. The area encompasses very shallow inshore waters and includes coral reefs, sandy substrates, and sandy beaches. Within the area there are: threatened species and undefined aggregations (Blacktip Reef Shark Carcharhinus melanopterus).

Marjan

Marjan

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Marjan is a small area on the eastern side of Kish Island which lies in the Iranian Persian Gulf in Hormozgan Province. The area encompasses very shallow inshore lagoon waters and includes coral reefs, sandy substrates, and sandy beaches.

Most living corals around Kish Island occur in the eastern and southeastern parts of the island, including in the area (Bargahi et al. 2020). The coral community includes colonial corals such as Porites, Platygyra, and Acropora species (Bargahi et al. 2020). Waters of the Persian Gulf experience extreme conditions including high salinity (45 ppt) and variable sea surface temperatures, ranging ~11°C in winter to ~36°C in summer (Sheppard et al. 2010; Bargahi et al. 2020).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthopelagic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 10 m based on the bathymetry of the area.

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 Blacktip Reef Shark is assessed as Vulnerable (Simpfendorfer et al. 2020).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C5 – UNDEFINED AGGREGATIONS

Marjan is an important area for undefined aggregations of one shark species.

Each year from March to April, Blacktip Reef Sharks aggregate in groups of up to >30 individuals in depths as shallow as < 1 m depth on the eastern coast of Kish Island. These aggregations have been observed annually since 2013 (HR Bargahi & M Mohammadi pers. obs. 2013–2023). Individuals are estimated to be ~70–80 cm total length (TL) which equates to an age of 1–2 years (Chin et al. 2013).  Blacktip Reef Shark size-at-birth is 33–52 cm TL and size-at-maturity is 91–100 cm TL for males and 96–112 cm TL for females (Ebert et al. 2021). Therefore, these aggregations represent juveniles and are not considered to be for reproduction. Further information is required to understand the function of these aggregations.

Marjan

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