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ISRA FACTSHEETS

SOUTH AMERICAN ATLANTIC REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

SOUTH AMERICAN ATLANTIC REGION

South Hunter Channel ISRA

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South Hunter Channel ISRA

South Hunter Channel

Summary

South Hunter Channel is located in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) of the Southwest Atlantic. The area is influenced by the Brazil Current, a warm and saline current that flows through the east coast of South America to higher latitudes and converges with the Falkland/Malvinas Current creating an area of high productivity. The habitat is characterised by pelagic waters. Within this area there are: threatened species and reproductive areas (Shortfin Mako Isurus oxyrinchus).

South Hunter Channel

South Hunter Channel

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

South Hunter Channel is located in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) of the Southwest Atlantic. It sits in the Hunter Channel which separates the Rio Grande Rise and the Argentine Basin. The Hunter Channel allows the flow of cold and saline Antarctic Bottom Waters from the south to northern areas which plays a key role in thermohaline circulation (Zenk et al. 1999). The area is also influenced by the Brazil Current, a warm and saline current that flows along the east coast of South America to higher latitudes and converges with the Falkland/Malvinas Current, creating a mixing area with high upwelling and the transport of cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface (McDonagh & King 2005).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is pelagic and is delineated from surface waters (0 m) to a depth of 1,888 m based on the global depth range of the Qualifying Species.

CRITERION A

VULNERABILITY

One Qualifying Species considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species regularly occurs in the area. This is the Endangered Shortfin Mako (Rigby et al. 2019).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C1 – REPRODUCTIVE AREAS

South Hunter Channel is an important reproductive area for one shark species.

Between 1989–2017, incidental catch of 42,979 Shortfin Makos was recorded by fishery observers and scientists from longline fisheries operating in the Atlantic Ocean (Coelho et al. 2018). Sizes of individuals ranged from 60–353 cm fork length, equivalent to ~67–398 cm total length (TL) based on conversion factors (ICCAT 2014; Rosa et al. 2018). Median size distribution was mapped in squares of 2×2° across the whole Atlantic Ocean. Median size in the area was between 73–110 cm TL (Coelho et al. 2018). Size-at-birth for the species is 60–70 cm TL (Ebert et al. 2021), indicating that the most common life-stages of animals caught in the area were either neonates or young-of-the-year. While in the Atlantic Ocean the hotspots for Shortfin Mako with the smallest mean size were found in the Southeast and North Atlantic, South Hunter Channel was one of three hotspots within the Southwest Atlantic where sizes representing neonates/YOY were the most common despite a similar number of individuals caught in nearby areas (Coelho et al. 2018).

South Hunter Channel

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