true

ISRA FACTSHEETS

WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN REGION

Ponta do Ouro ISRA

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Ponta do Ouro ISRA

Ponta do Ouro

Summary

Ponta do Ouro is a coastal area in far southern Mozambique. The area lies in a biogeographic transitional area between the tropical coast of central Mozambique and the subtropical east coast of South Africa (Delagoa bioregion). It is characterised by a reef ridge at ~30 m depth that is surrounded by deeper water. The area overlaps with a Marine Protected Area, three Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas, and one Key Biodiversity Area. Within this area there are: threatened species (e.g., Scalloped Hammerhead Sphyrna lewini); feeding areas (Bull Shark Carcharhinus leucas); and undefined aggregations (e.g., Spotted Eagle Ray Aetobatus ocellatus).

Ponta do Ouro

Ponta do Ouro

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Ponta do Ouro is a coastal reef in far southern Mozambique. It is situated within a unique biogeographic transitional region between the tropical coast of central Mozambique and the subtropical east coast of South Africa (Turpie et al. 2000), referred to as the Delagoa bioregion (Sink et al. 2004). The Agulhas Current is the dominant oceanographic feature due to the relatively narrow continental shelf along this region of coast (Schumann 1988; Ramsay 1994; Lutjeharms 2006).

The reef, known locally as Pinnacles, is a shallow ridge (~30 m depth) surrounded by deeper water (>50 m) on the narrow continental shelf. The area contains some of the highest latitude shallow-water hard coral reefs in the world (Riegl et al. 1995). These hard coral communities are typically dominated by Acropora and Montipora species that form a veneer on top of existing substrate (Ramsay 1994).

The area overlaps with the Maputo National Park Marine Protected Area (MPA). It also overlaps with three Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs): the Delagoa Shelf Edge, Canyons and Slope, the Incomati River to Ponta do Ouro, and the Mozambique Channel (CBD 2023a, 2023b, 2023c), and with the Ponta do Ouro Marine Partial Reserve Key Biodiversity Area (KBA 2023).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthopelagic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 45 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 SpeciesTM regularly occur in the area. These are the Critically Endangered Scalloped Hammerhead (Rigby et al. 2019), the Endangered Spotted Eagle Ray (Finucci et al. submitted), and the Vulnerable Bull Shark (Rigby et al. 2021).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C2 – FEEDING AREAS

Ponta do Ouro is an important feeding area for one shark species.

Bull Sharks are regularly reported during summer with multiple individuals feeding on fish spawning aggregations. The timing of their arrival coincides exactly with the arrival of spawning carangids in early summer (Daly et al. 2019; Lubitz et al. 2023). Stable isotope analysis confirmed that Bull Sharks sampled in this area have a broad diet that includes carangids that aggregate on a specific reef every year (Daly et al. 2013).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C5 – UNDEFINED AGGREGATIONS

Ponta do Ouro is an important area for undefined aggregations of one shark and one ray species.

Scalloped Hammerheads predictably aggregate on Pinnacle Reef, where they have been observed every year for the past 14 years between September and March forming aggregations of 20–200 individuals (R Daly pers. obs. 2010–2023).

Spotted Eagle Rays form seasonal aggregations on Pinnacle Reef from December to March, where they were seen every year for the past 13 years (R Daly pers. obs. 2011–2023).

Ponta do Ouro

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